
Class 
Book. 



FRKSKNTEI) BY 



1^ ^ — - 



v^- 






Excerpts from the author's historical work, 
"Fifteen Hundred Years of Europe 1 ' 



The Belgian Nation 



Table of Contents 



A COMPOSITE NATION 



Race — Flemings and Walloons form a composite nation with the 

same origin, i. 
Qualities — Love of labor, liberty and culture — small territory but 

prominent power, 2-3. 

History 

ANCIENT HISTORY 

Roman Period (I) Five Centuries of Culture. Ambiorix and 
Caesar, 5. 

MEDIEVAL HISTORY : HEROIC AGES 

A — World movements of Crusaders, 7. 

B — National movements, 12. 

Franco-Belgian period (II), 12. 

Formation of Frankish civilization cradle of Frankish dynasties. 

Empire, 13. 

Feudal period (III). Six centuries, 19. 

Feudal system. Military, 19. 

Imperial fief, Lotharingia, royal fief, Flanders, 19. 

Monograph, 20-31. 

Flanders: The Baldwins. Communes. Industries. 

Struggles : Breydel and Deconinick, Van Artevelde. 
Franchises conquered in all Belgium. Brabant: Joyeuse Entree. 
Liege, the Walloon capital. Heroism of 600 Franchimontois. 
Union period (IV). Two centuries. Reunion of principalities 

by Dukes of Burgundy, 37. 
Period V. Foreign regimes; commercial collapse, 45. 
Spanish Domination. 
Attacks of Louis XIV. 

Causes of the division of Belguim and Holland, 47. 
Austrian Domination, 49. 
French Domination, 50. 
Dutch Domination, 52. 



THE BELGIAN NATION 



MODERN HISTORY 



Period VI — Independent Kingdom of Belgium: N earing a 
Century. 

Sacrifice of Provinces, 51. 

Superior Dynasty, 53. 

Heroism in the World's War, 53. 

Chronicles 

Ancient History, 64. 
Medieval Histoiry, 64. 
Modern History, 70. 

Index 

Alphabetical Index, J2-J6. 



Letters of Introduction 

Chicago, 10- 2 7- icj 
Dear Father De Vos: 

Your pamphlet "The Belgian Nation' strikes me as reflecting 
the life of the Belgians through the centuries and the remarkable 
part they had in all the great movements of the times. 

Why have the Belgians played such an important role in 
history? Why have they prospered ? We find the answer in your 
pamphlet. 

The historical episodes set forth in its pages give the reader 
a clear conception of the Belgian nation from the times of Caesar 
until the present epoch. 

u Multum in parvo." The ingenious arrangement in episodes, 
chronicles and statistics offers much in a small booklet and gives 
enough to understand the history of the Belgians and their in- 
fluence in the world. It is just what the busy Americans want 
as it sho7vs in a few hours the reason why Belgium lives and 
is the cedter of attention of the world today. 

To my knowledge, there arc in the United States very few 
histories of Belgium. I commend these compact pages to the 
numerous friends of Belgium. 

Yours truly, 
The Belgian Consul; Cyrix Vermerrn, M. D. 



THE BELGIAN NATION 
PRE- NOTE BY A PROFESSOR 

In the calm, following the frightful disturbances of the world 
during the past four years, the scholar and historian has ample 
opportunity to make an exhaustive study of the real causes lead- 
ing to the almost inconceivable conditions of European past 
policy, politics, intrigue and deceit, culminating in the tragedy 
fresh in our memories. The inevitable consequences of un- 
christian international ambition, unfair competition, race and 
class hatred and suspicion needed only an insignificant spark of 
hypocritical pretence to throw the entire continent into a con- 
flagration wherein seemed destined to perish from the earth, 
liberty, loyalty, love and trust. Its devastating ravages are now 
vu ell known. 

But out from this inferno there emerged one nation that before 
an admiring world, immortalized the ideals of centuries of its 
children in a baptism of blood, suffering, sorrozv and heroism 
unparalleled in the pages of history. The Calvary of this little 
heroic martyr country is now past and as it rises in the glory of 
its true power, strength and immortality it commands the admira- 
tion of the scholar of every nation who may. seek to fathom the 
causes of its wonderful vitality tried by the most awful tests. 
That country is Belgium and the causes of its victory, life and 
vigor today, "a passionate love of liberty, of culture and an in- 
defatigable activity'' are described in the simple, easy and con 
vincing narrative of the author who knows so well the aims, 
ideals and aspirations of his noble people. 

This, taken from a more lengthy and elaborate work of the 
author, should give to the scholar a clear idea of the fundamental 
principles and causes of the pozver of resistance of the Belgian 
nation in the late world war, causes that must ever give a lasting 
inspiration and confidence to her sister nations of history, mar- 
tyred as was Belgium in the cause of justice, right, and loyalty to 
her beloved Rulers, but victorious at last in the struggle with 
oppression, injustice and tyranny. 

James M. Murray, CM. A.M. Ph.D. 
De Paul University, Chicago, Illinois. 
October 28, 1919. 



The Belgian Nation 

A Composite Nation 

A fusion of races tends to improve the composite Composite 

L . - . Character 

nations resulting from them. No people are more mixed 
than the Belgians and none were more progressive. 

Belgium is a borderland between France, Germany 
and England, and combines traits of these great nations. 
It is inhabited by two races : The Flemish and the 
Walloon, who speak different languages. 

The Characteristics of a Nation. 

To excuse their unjust agression the Prussians pre- ? wo 

■ °° m l Languages 

tended that the Belgians are not one nation because thev Are no Sign 
speak two languages, to wit : the Flemish and the Wal- National- 
loon, and thus seem to belong to two nationalities. But lties 
the language is not always a mark of race and in this 
case the Flemings and the Walloons have the same 
origin. Both are a mixture of Celts and Teutons ; where 9/. igin a , 

m Mixture of 

the Celtic element predominates a French idiom is spok- Gauls and 
en; where the German element' predominates, a Teu- 
tonic idiom is used. Both having the same origin, they 
perfectly answer the definition of a nation. 

Moreover, they have the same character, to-wit: a 
passionate love of liberty and of culture and an indefa- n 

1 •> Common 

tigable activity; such traits always make a progressive Traits 
people. Their folk song rings, "Flemings and Walloons 
are only surnames, Belgian is our family name." 

Love of Liberty. 

The Belgians are such lovers of liberty, that they Fi .s ht For 
always fought any encroachment on their rights and 
always were a free people. Walloons and Flemings 

l 



CHARACTER 



Civilized 
by the 
Romans 



Break the 

Nomadic 

Tribes 



Sacrifices 
For Liberty 
of 
Conscience 



Democracy 



Useful 
Arts 



stood together for liberty. The only time that the Bel- 
gians were subdued was by the irresistible Julius Caesar, 
but they became one of the progressive peoples of the 
Roman Empire. Far from being enslaved by the Franks, 
they were made partners of the kingdoms, and with 
them compelled the nomadic tribes to respect the lands 
of others and to settle down on their own territories. 
When western Europe was parcelled out into fiefs, de- 
pending on France and Germany, the Belgian princi- 
palities enjoyed a large amount of freedom. Being far 
away from the central powers, they were only lightly 
ruled by their suzerains, and opposed an implacable re- 
sistance against any attempt on their liberties. 

At the Reformation, when the Dutch attempted to 
destroy their churches and change their ancient faith, 
the Belgians fought for their liberty of worship and sac- 
rificed their commerce to follow the dictates of their con- 
science. For they were shut off from the sea routes by 
the Hollanders, and ostracised by the northern powers 
who were then fanatical Protestants, and they suffered 
an eclipse in the commerce for conscience' sake. 

When the peoples of the earth commenced to organize 
a real and logical democracy, the Belgians were among 
the first to assert their independence against the Dutch. 
In our days they maintained their liberty against the 
most powerful tyrant of any age. They fought that they 
and the world may be safe for democracy. 

Love of Culture. 

The Belgians have a natural inclination to the arts — 
the fine arts as well as the useful. They seem to be born 
mechanics and when they migrate to other countries 
they quickly are noted for their mechanical skill in every 
kind of craft and secure the best of positions. 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

As for the fine arts and letters, the Belgians excel Fl " e Arts 

. . an( * 

in painting, music, history and science. Their museums Sciences 

are filled with masterpieces of their own masters, and 

their homes are decorated in fine taste and style. The 

Belgians have their quota of men great in every kind of 

science and they always march in the van of progress. 

Love of Labor. 

The Belgians are animated with a devouring activity. Activity 
Labor is a second nature to them. The density of the 
population brings up many rivals for every position. It is 
a difficult task to climb in the scale of society and it 
requires exertion to make a living. Everyone works 
early and late. But labor develops man and produces 
wealth and abundance ; it creates a powerful community 
and a progressive people. Belgium has a man to the 
acre, that is, 646 people to the square mile; it is more 
than any other country supports. 

Progressive Role in the World. 

Belgium took a lively part in the movements of the Roman 
times : social, political and religious ; commercial and Absorbed 
intellectual. c^™^' 

It quickly assimilated the Roman civilization and com- 
municated same to the Franks, who migrated on its soil, 
and amalgamated with its progressive inhabitants, and 
formed themselves into the civilizing nation of the west. 
In the middle ages, Belgium was the most progressive 
people of northern Europe in industry and commerce, industry 
It was the first to ennoble labor with the order of the 
Golden Fleece instituted by Philip the Good to glorify- 
the woolen industries, so flourishing in his domains. 
In the wars for liberty, aeainst threatening Moham- 
medanism and German autocracy, it furnished the great- 



CHARACTER 



Crusaders 



Faithful- 
ness to 
Belief 
At All 
Times 



Prominence 
of Belgium 



Rich Soils 
and Mines 



Drainage 



Roads 



Belgians 
Prominent 
in the 
World 
Affairs 



est heroes of the Crusades, who became chosen rulers of 
the Catholic states of Jerusalem and Constantinople. 
The Belgians defended the liberty of mankind against 
German autocracy. In reformation times, they refused 
to change their religion, at the command • of German 
princes. In our own days they stopped the K'aiser on his 
way to the conquest of the world. The sacrifices were 
immense, but human liberty was saved. 

Small Territory but Prominent Pozver. 

Belgium is one of the smallest lands in Europe. Still 
it has played a big role at all times, especially in this 
war, and is now entirely paralyzed. What is it that gives 
this little nation such prominence? The high character 
of the people, the heroism in this war, and its spirit of 
independence through the ages. 

The area of Belgium is 11,843 square miles. Its pop- 
ulation, 7,386,466 souls. Its soil is inexhaustible and 
it is as intensely cultivated as a garden. It has coal and 
iron mines ranking fifth in importance in all Europe. 
Its streams, the Meuse, the Scheldt and the Yser, afford 
a complete drainage of the plains and form a large net- 
work of waterways which penetrates into every nook 
of the country. Railroads, national, provincial and 
vicinal, run to the very villages. The highways between 
these villages are kept up like our boulevards. 

Although one of the smallest states of Europe, it is 
the fifth in the world trade. It comes immediately after 
England, Germany, the United States and France. It 
ranks as a great power on account of the volume and 
the kind of its commerce. From a business standpoint, 
Belgium occupies a rank altogether out of proportion 
with its size and its population. The area of Belgium is 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

eighteen times smaller than that of Germany or France industry 
and still it competes in the markets of tlie world with 
its gigantic neighbors. The great powers are recog- 
nizing the importance of Belgium by raising their envoys 
at the court of Brussels to the rank of ambassadors, 
which implies a great power. 

Belgium has the largest and finest colony in Africa, Colonization 
that of the Congo, which is eighty times larger than the colony** 
mother country. That state is very fertile and practically 
organized and administered. The slave raids have been 
stopped forever. Life and property are safe and the 
country is being rapidly developed. 



History 

Ancient History 

I. PERIOD 57 B. C. 476 A. D. 

ROMAN PERIOD CULTURED 

In ancient times Belgium formed the third part of Third Part 
Gaul, stretching from the Rhine to the Somme and of Gaul 
the Sea. The Belgians strongly resisted the Roman con- 
quest. Once incorporated in the World Empire, the Bel- vaiiance 
gians took up the advanced culture of Rome, and became 
a factor in the empire and enjoyed for five centuries the 
blessings of the civilization of Athens and Rome. 

Ambiorix and Caesar. 

Ambiorix was the personification of Northern brav- 
ery and independence. Caesar, the personification of 
Roman strategy and statesmanship. 

Julius Caesar is easily the greatest among the r^^"^^ 
Romans, who conquered all the nations of the ancient 



ROMAN PERIOD 



Conquers 
Gaul 



Caesar 
Drives 
Germans 
Back 

Remains in 
Gaul 



Rise of the 
Belgians 



They Corner 
Caesar 
Extreme 
Danger 



Conquest of 
Nervians 



Ambiorix 
Leagues the 
Belgians 



world. His main achievement was the conquest of 
Gaul, whose people were brave and independent, and 
who later formed the wealthiest province of the 
Roman Empire. For there he found adversaries worthy 
of him. 

Caesar conquered Gaul in eight years, 58-51 B. C. 
Called by Gallic tribes against Helvetian and German 
invaders, he established his camp in Gaul and demanded 
hostages. The Belgians were extremely jealous of their 
independence. 57 B. C. they formed a league against the 
threatening power of Rome; 300,000 men arose for 
the defense of their liberty. Caesar boldly advanced 
in their midst before they could unite their forces and 
he subdued one tribe after another. The Nervii had 
an army of 60,000 men. They surprised the Romans 
when the latter were preparing their camp on the 
banks of the Sambre and very nearly swept Caesar 
and his veterans off the field by their furious and 
tremendous charge. But the personal influence of 
the one and the steady discipline of the other pre- 
vailed over the untrained valor of the Nervii and the 
proud nation was nearly exterminated. Their com- 
batants were cut off, almost to a man. Only 500 fight- 
ing men remained. 

The Belgians were subdued in 57 B. C. But they 
revolted. Ambiorix, the king of Eburons, organized 
them in a league. He besieged the Roman camp, 
which was saved only by the prompt action of Caesar. 
In 53 Ambiorix formed a new league and seriously 
threatened the Romans. Caesar, understanding the 
danger, penetrated as quick as lightning among the 
different tribes and ravaged their territories. He de- 
feated Ambiorix, exterminated the Eburons and made 
a desert of their lands. 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Ambiorix fled to the Germans to warn them against Arouses . 

. , . ° Hermann 

the advancing Romans, and he aroused Hermann, f Germany 
the .German hero, who exterminated the Roman 
legions. But Caesar crossed the Rhine two times and 
appeared in Germany; he also crossed the Channel two 
times and invaded Britain. Thus he struck awe of the 
Roman power among the fierce nations of the north. 
Ambiorix never bent the knee to the Romans and died 
a free man among the German warriors. 

Medieval History 

FIFTH-SIXTEENTH CENTURIES 

The Middle Ages were ages of struggle and forma- A es of 
non full of wild disorder and vice and of noble heroism struggle 
and virtue. They were the times of struggle against 
anarchy, fanaticism and despotism and of struggles for 
order, religion and liberty. The greatest champions of 
the rights of men were the Franco-Belgians, who at 
home created industry and prosperity and abroad threw 
themselves valiantly in the great movements for the 
sake of humanity. 

Whilst those world wars lasted during the whole of 
the Middle Ages, they are treated first; then the local 
events and national improvements are taken up. 

A! 

WORLD WARS FOR CULTURE 

The Middle Ages were the heroic ages of Christen- 
dom. Nomadism and brutality were let loose upon man- . esof Heroes 
kind by the fall of the Roman Empire — the power that 
nad maintained peace in the world for centuries. The 
Franco-Belgians were the first to restore order in Europe' 
and fought the longest against the powers of barbarism. 
The expeditions of Charlemagne to tame and settle down 
the barbarians of the north and the wars of Charles 



CRUSADES 



Franco-Bel- 
gian Heroes 



Pilgrimages 
Hampered 
by Seljuks 



Who Threat- 
en Empire 



Martel, Godfrey de Bouillon, Baldwin IX of Flanders 
St. Louis IX of France and Emperor Charles V are 
holy wars undertaken to defend liberty, culture and re- 
ligion; they all were crusades fought to establish and 
maintain civilization in the w r orld. 

Without denying the part of all the Christian nations 
in those world wars for civilization, it is safe to say that 
ihe Franco-Belgian heroes and later the French and the 
Belgians had the greatest share. For them crusading 
began centuries before and lasted centuries after the 
general crusades. Their rulers became the leaders of 
those Christian expeditions ; but most of them lost their 
lives in the infidel countries and their great dynasties 
were lost to their people. The feats of Godfrey de 
Bouillon, Baldwin of Flanders, equal the deeds of any 
heroes of the past ages and will forever redound to the 
glory of the Belgians. 

FIRST CRUSADE 

From Three Ages of Progress by J. De Vos 
From the earliest ages the land sanctified by the pres- 
ence of Our Lord was held in pious veneration, and was 
the object of many pilgrimages. In 630 the Arabs, in 
907 the Kihalifs of Cairo, and in 1075 the Seljukian 
Turks, conquered Palestine, and all molested and tor- 
mented the Christians, the last-named especially being 
exceedingly cruel. After subduing the East, they estab- 
lished five young kingdoms eager to expand, the most 
famous being Iconium in Asia Minor, Aleppo in Syria, 
and Damascus in Palestine. Constantinople was alarmed, 
and sent a cry of distress to Rome. The Italians were 
deaf to the appeal, and remained insensible to the troubles 
of the Greeks. But Pope Urban II (1088-1099) sent 
Peter the Hermit to France, the land of Charles Martel, 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

to describe the woes of the Christians of the East. He 
also convoked and presided at the Council of Clermont, urban n 
which was attended by throngs of bishops and nobles, councilor" 
Peter the Hermit, a poor emaciated priest, told, with a clermont 
sad countenance and a voice choked with sobs, the awful ? T eter * e „ , 

' Hermit's Sad 

tale of Mussulman violence and sacrilege. Story 

"I have seen/' he exclaimed, "Christians ironed and 
put to the yoke like beasts of burden. I have seen the 
ministers of the Most High dragged from the sanctuary, 
beaten with rods, and doomed to an ignominious death." 
When the hermit had filled every heart with emotion, 
the Pope arose and thrilled the warriors by a most stir- 
ring speech. He told them to stop their fratricidal com- Christian 

\A^arriors 

bats, and to atone for them by turning their swords Urged to 

. , - , . Turn Wea- 

agamst the enemies of Christ. pons Against 

"Soldiers of hell !" cried he, "be now the champions of Enemy 
God. You are not to avenge the wrongs of men, but 
those of the Lord of hosts. If you triumph, the bless- 
ings of Heaven and the kingdoms of Asia will be yours. 
If you fall, you will have the consolation of dying upon 
the soil crimsoned bv our Savior's Blood. Break all 
earthly ties. Remember the words of our Lord: 'Every 
one that has left house, brethren and sisters, or father 
and mother, or wife and children for My sake shall re- 
ceive a hundredfold and possess life everlasting' ! " 

At these words the vast multitude arose and exclaimed "9. od wills 

it" 

as with one voice: "God wills it! .God wills it!" 

Three times the enthusiastic cry broke forth from 
thousands of breasts, and was borne away upon the' 
breeze and resounded with lengthened echoes from the 
hills around. The Pope promised to protect their prop- 
erties and their families during their absence, and thous- 

9 



CRUSADES 



Cross Taken 
On the Spot 



Army of 
600,000 



Alexis 
Alarmed 



Claims 
Asiatic Con- 
quests 



Crusaders 
Conquer 
Part of 
Syria 



Only 50,000 
Arrive 
Before 
Jerusalem 



ands pledged themselves on the spot to go to war in the 
Holy Land. As a sign of their vow they put a red cross 
on their right shoulder, whence they were called cru- 
saders. Peter the Hermit passed on into Germany and 
Italy, and there also he created a general enthusiasm 
for the Holy War. 

In the first enthusiasm numerous bands set out with- 
out leaders and perished on the road. The real crusade 
(1095-1099) was led by the most noble and the most re- 
nowned knights of Christendom. Six hundred thousand 
men were marshaled under the walls of Constantinople, 
and so frightened the Emperor Alexis that his daughter 
Ann wrote: "It seemed to us as if Europe, torn from 
its foundations, was hurled in its entirety upon Asia/' 
Alexis commenced to annoy the Crusaders, and refused 
them ships with which to cross the Bosphorus until they 
promised to turn over to him all the conquests they might 
make in Asia Minor. The crusaders defeated the Sultan 
of Iconium, and the Greeks followed to take possession 
of the conquered country, and often betrayed their allies 
the crusaders. In Syria Baldwin of Bouillon and Bohe- 
mond of Tarento conquered Edessa and Antioch, and 
became the princes of these cities. Combats, famine and 
hardships thinned the ranks of the army before they 
reached Jerusalem, and the plague set in and carried of! 
a great many. There remained only 50,000 men, but 
they were the flower of the Christian chivalry. When 
they arrived on the hills of Emmaus, and beheld Jeru- 
salem afar off, glowing in the rays of the rising sun, they 
threw themselves upon their faces in the dust, and kissed 
with respect the ground sanctified by the footsteps of 
our Lord, shouting the watchword "God wills it!" 

10 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

The infidels were prepared for a desperate resistance, Thirl"' 
and had 40,000 soldiers from Egypt besides 20,000 be- Heat and 

OJ Toil 

longing to Jerusalem. They had filled the wells around 
the city, and turned the surrounding country into a 
desert. The crusaders suffered terribly from hunger and 
thirst, and from the burning sun; but they were relieved 
by the .arrival of the Genoese fleet at Joppa, which 
brought plenty of supplies and a number of engineers. 
These cut down trees of a distant forest, and constructed 
moving towers which were higher than the ramparts of 
the enemy and furnished with drawbridges which could 
be lowered upon the walls. After five weeks of toil and 
lighting the crusaders prepared by a fast and a proces- 
sion for the final assault. At early dawn the Christians 
moved forward their battle engines; the Mohammedans Stormin^of 

Terusslern 

threw upon them flashing torches and Greek fire. The 
storming lasted until dark, and was recommenced the fol- 
lowing morning. From their ramparts the Mussulmans 
did not cease throwing that unquenchable Greek fire, 
which devoured even the shields and corselets of the steel- in F*ce of 

• Greek Fire 

clad warriors. Conspicuous upon the top of his moving 
tower stood Godfrey of Bouillon, dealing death and havoc ^{jf^ * 
among the Moslems. Surrounded by a heap of dead and Enters 
dying, the hero calmly gave his orders and encouraged 
his men by example, voice and gesture. It was the 
solemn hour of three o'clock, at which our Lord died. 
Suddenly the report spread that several of the crusaders 
who had fallen in preceding battles had appeared, and 
planted the standard of the Cross upon the ramparts of 
Jerusalem. The Christians charged with renewed vigor.' , 
Godfrey's tower rolled on amid a storm of darts, stones 
and fiery missiles ; it lowered its bridge upon the walls, 
whilst the Christians shot their burning darts upon 

11 



FRANCO-BELGIAN PERIOD 



And Takes 
Possession 
of City 

Procession 
of the Cross 



Election of 
Godfrey to 
Kingship 



Belgium 
the Cradle 
of 

Frankish 
Dynasties 



the bales of cotton and straw which protected the inner 
wall of the city. The wind fanned the flames, and drove 
them upon the infidels, who were stifled by the fire and 
mioke. The city was soon taken. 

As soon as victory was gained, the crusaders, laying 
iside their arms and bloodstained garments, went, bare- 
footed and bareheaded, weeping and striking their 
breasts, to the Sepulchre of Our Lord. The true cross 
was borne in procession through the streets. At its sight 
the Christians were as much moved as if they had seen 
the Body of Christ as it once hung upon the same cross. 

The chiefs met to elect a king able to defend the 
precious conquest of the holy places, and they unani- 
mously chose Godfrey of Bouillon, who soon afterward 
gained the great battle of Ascalon against the combined 
forces of Egypt and Syria. The crusaders returned to 
Europe, and left to the king only 2,000 infantry and 300 
horsemen. It was the Knights Hospitallers who formed 
his principal support. Unhappily he died in the year 1 100. 

B 



During 



NATIONAL MOVEMENTS 

the Middle Ages the Belgians progressed 
under every kind of government. They throve as part- 
ners of the Franco-Belgian Empire; as quasi-independ- 
ent vassals and as a reunited and free nation. 

11 period — 476-842 
franco-belgian period: formative 
From the Fourth century many Franks settled in Bel- 
gium and combined with the ancient populations and 
made them more Teutonic than before. 

It is on Belgian soil that the two first dynasties of 
the Franks arose and grew, to-wit: — the Merovingians, 
350-752, the Carolingians, 752-987 — Clovis, Charles 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Martel and Charlemagne are Belgian princes. Clovis' 
capital was Tournay, Charlemagne's was Aix la 
Chapelle, then in the center of Belgium. Lotharingia 

In 843 the Frankish Empire was partitioned in three B°™fum hendS 
parts : — France, Lotharin^ia and Germany. Lotharinsria Loraine 

F . 11 r • 11? Switzerland 

was the center, and the seat 01 empire, comprehending 
' not only Belgium and Holland, but also Lorraine and 
Switzerland. That state soon dissolved into the above 
countries, which are existing until today. 

The Franks: The Leaders of the Teutons. 

Most of the history of ancient Belgium from the Franks in 
fall of the old Roman Empire of the West to the restora- ^^ a Rome 
tion of the same 'by Charlemagne may be told in the 
history of the Franks. They are the one nation that 
grew on the confines of the Roman Empire along the 
right side of the Rhine from the Main river to the sea, 
and that occupied the left side and all of Belgium even 
before the fall of the Empire. They had adopted the 
policies and strategies of the Empire. Three Franks 
had been proclaimed emperors of Rome. By embracing Leavened 
Christianity the Franks acquired a new element of cul- Christianity 
ture and progress. 

They had become similar to the Celts of Gaul, whom A ;?d By 

. -■ Mixture 

they conquered, and they could at once amalgamate them- with Gauls 

■ selves with those Latinized Gauls — thus they represented ii s h the 

in themselves a revival of the ancient civilization and Empire 11 
they became the Neo-Latins of the North. 

The Franks became the leaders of continental Europe w ^5 h j ls 

r Divided 

for three centuries; thev laid the foundation of a new Into Two 

. . . Great 

Empire of the west, which was gloriously established by Powers 
Charlemagne who was consecrated the first Emperor by 
the Chief of Christendon; after a century and a half of 
vicissitudes it was finally established in the eastern part of • 

13 



FRANCO-BELGIAN PERIOD 

the domains — Germany, while the western part was held 
by the kingdom of France ; the equal in power and influ- 
And Some ence to the Empire itself. There were a number of 
secondary powers that arose between and around those 
main realms, which maintained and led their own 
national life and never amalgamated with the main 
powers. There were also a great number of quasi-inde- 
pendent principalities which also preserved their in- 
dividual existence and characteristics. 

This organization was due as much to the genius of 
the Franks as to the policy of the church. 

Defenders Not only were the Franks the leaders in the early re- 
tion and Za " construction of Europe ; but they were also its defenders. 
They helped the Romans to check the invading Ger- 
man tribes, and to crush the triumphant hordes of the 
Huns at Chalons sur Marne. 
No im- When the Mohammedan Moors had passed over the 

Culture But prostrate Westgoths of Spain and rushed into Gaul, the 
Gradual Franks stopped their triumphant march at Poitiers. 

This does not imply that the Franks lost their wild 
instincts and became meek and cultured at once. It 
took centuries to blot out barbarism. But it simply 
means that they established orderly governments and 
became the champions of justice and religion. 

Two dynasties ruled the Franks — the Merovingian 

Two 

Dynasties 418-638 and the Carolingian 638-843. When the de- 
scendants of Clovis gave themselves over to indolence 
and delivered the government to their ministers, called 
the Mayors of the palace, the Carolingians arose to 
power, and became the Monarchs of France. The deeds 
of a prominent prince of each dynasty are described. 

14 



THE BELGIAN NATION 



SOME LEADING PERSONAGES 
CLOVIS 

Monographs. 

The Franks were divided in Riparian or River Franks 
(Rhine) and Salic or Sea (North Sea) Franks. 

Clovis was only one of the Frankish kings; but he 
kills most of the other kings and by violence and deceit 
makes himself the sole ruler of the Franks, and thus 
unites all the Franks in one realm. 

481-51 1, Clovis of Chlodwig was only 16 years, but he 
was a hero. Leader of the Salic Franks in the battle of 
Poitiers, 486, he conquers Syagrius, the last Roman gov- 
ernor in Gaul, whose rule extended from the Seine to 
the Garonne basin. 

In 493 Clovis had married the Catholic Princess Clo- 
tilde of Burgundy. Called by the Riparian King of 
Cologne, against the Alamanni, he gives battle to them 
(at Tolbiac). When his soldiers were giving way, he 
vowed to adore the God of Clotilde if He gave him a vic- 
tory. Fie beat his enemies, and the Rhine became a 
Frankish river. As a result of this battle he was bap- 
tized by St. Remi and 3,000 nobles with him. He was 
the first Teutonic king to accept the Catholic Faith. 
Hence, France is called the eldest Daughter of the 
Church. St. Eleutherius baptized 11,000 men. 

That solemn conversion to the Catholic Faith, the one 
professed by the Gaulic population, produced a powerful 
sensation. The fusion between the Gauls and the Franks 
became possible because both had the Catholic Faith. 



Franks 
United 



Conquest of 

Roman 

Gaul 



Alamanni 



After 
Vitory of 
Tolbiac 
Baptism 
of 3,000 
Officers 



Fusion Be- 
tween the 
Franks and 
Gauls 



CHARLEMAGNE 

Character. Charlemagne was tall and robust, com- strong 
manding in face and figure, an untiring worker, tern- Temperate 
perate in food and still more in drink ; cheerful in temper, 

15 



FRANCO-BELGIAN PERIOD 



Balanced 



High- 
minded 



Defender 
of Chris- 
tendom 



He Unites 
the German 
Nations 
Under One 
Empire 



Charles a 
Born Ruler 
Perfected 
by Virtue 



steadfast and terrible in battle; gentle, condescending 
and faithful to his friends. His faculties were harmo- 
niously developed. He was equally great as a conqueror 
and a lawgiver, a social organizer and a promoter of re- 
ligion and culture. He loved power for the good it 
enabled him to do, but he was free from personal am- 
bition. The glittering and easy price of the eastern 
empire was no temptation to him. He preferred to ham- 
mer away at the Saxons, Saracens, Avars in the service 
of Christ and His Church and never unsheathed the 
sword in a lower cause. 

Beneficent Empire. Greatness is embodied in the very 
name of Charlemagne — Magnus, "great," forming one 
word with it. Charlemagne was the flower and the glory 
of the Carolingian dynasty. He was the worthy suc- 
cessor of Charles Martel who had saved Christendom 
from Mohammedanism and of Pepin the Short who had 
defended the Church against the encroachment of the 
Langobardians and he united the German nations under 
one scepter, thus finishing the work of his illustrious pre^ 
decessors. But he had no successors able to take up 
his great work, and the glory of the house ended with 
him, and his dynasty disappeared within a century. 

Seldom has the world seen a king more fitted by nature 
and virtue for ruling men, and seldom has a born ruler 
found similar opportunities for displaying such powers 
and qualities. To him Providence had assigned the task 
of consolidating the best results of the migration of the 
nations, and of welding its many discordant elements 
into a strong Christian commonwealth. 

Charles had inherited from Pepin, his father, and 
Charles Martel, his grandfather, the duty of protecting 
Catholic Europe from the Saracens, the Slavs and the 

16 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Saxons, to push the outer defenses of Christendom into w^^S^ 
territories still sunk in paganism and sa'vaeerv, to pro- Migrated 

1 & m t> .• > . 1 Nations 

mote the conversions of the new subjects whom he might Together 
subdue, and to continue the temporal protectorate over 
the Church and the Holy See, which the Franks had 
assumed under Pepin the Short. His most difficult task 
was the conquest of the Saxons. 

Data in the ivork of Charlemagne. 

In the course of fifty-three military expeditions Charles Expeditions 
the Great firmly established his power over Southern 
Gaul and Celtic Brittany, reached Sicily, Corsica and 
the Balearic Islands in his warfare against the Arab 
pirates of Africa, rained the countries around the head Subdues 

r ' & Aquitamans 

of the Adriatic from the Eastern Empire, secured the Slavs 
independence of Venice by a treaty with Constantinople, 
destroyed the kingdom of the Avars, reduced the Slav- Reaches 

Greeks 

onic tribes on the eastern front from the Baltic to the 
Adriatic, and united into one Frankish monarchy, within 
the Eider, the Ebro, the Garigliano and the Raab, all' the 
German nations that had remained in their ancient seats, Unites A11 
with all the Teutonic tribes on the Continent that had £ e German 

Nations 

settled on Roman soil. Yet what made him still greater 
was that he labored untiringly every year of his reign 
with resolution and deliberate purpose for the benefit 
of all classes in his vast dominions. 

He attacked the Lombard King Desiderius, 77Z-7&7, Langobar- 
who was conspiring with his enemies, and was molesting 
the Pope of Rome, and he conquered Longobarda, and 
annexed it to France 787. He warred with the Saxons 
for twenty years and ten years longer with the Danes, 
among whom he advanced as far as the Eider. He re- 
duced Thassilo, duke of Bavaria, who had revolted, and 

17 



FRANCO-BELGIAN PERIOD 



Avars 



Slavs 



Border of 

Mar- 

gravates 



Expedition 
into Spain 



Roland of 
Roncevalles 



Centuries 
of Hostility 



had enlisted the neighboring princes in his revolt, and he 
abolished the Dukedom, and divided it in counties. 

The Avars had aided the enemies of Charles who at- 
tacked them from 791-799 and established the Avaric 
March, which later became Austria. 

To secure a boundary line in the rear of the Saxons 
against the advancing Slavs, who penetrated wherever 
the shifting of nations offered them a chance, he pushed 
as far as the Oder, conquered the Slavic tribes of the 
Elbe, and established a Sorbian March. 

Charles created a borderbelt of German Margravates 
from the Baltic to the Adriatic, among the Slavic 
tribes to keep same in awe and prevent further migra- 
tions. 

Charlemagne undertook an expedition into Spain, 77S, 
against Abderrhaman the new Ommiad Caliph. Charles 
crossed the Pyrenees, subdued the country as far as the 
Erbo, and received the temporary homage of Moslems, 
Navarese and Basques. A Spanish march was estab- 
lished. But on his march back the Basques surprised 
the rearguard of the Frankish army in the passes of 
Roncevalles. Here fell the hero Roland, a Frankish 
Margrave of the Breton coast celebrated in many me- 
dieval romances. 

Wars with the Saxons, 772-864. 

The Saxons were the hereditary foes both of the 
Franks and of Christianity. For three hundred years 
they had defied the power of the Franks and made in- 
cursions into their territory. In the Mayfield and general 
review of the army at Worms, 772, the conquest and con- 
version of the Saxons was resolved upon as necessary 
for the safety of the Frankish kingdom. 

18 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Warfare with the Saxons was most difficult on account 
of the wildness of the country, the bravery of the Saxons 
and the desperate tenacity with which they clung to their 
liberty, religion and customary laws. 

Compared with the Saxon wars the other expeditions The Life 
of Charles have the character of episodes. Whilst charie- 
Charles invaded their territory, built fortresses and magne 
manned them with Frankish garrisons, introduced the 
military and judicial system of the Franks, built churches What He 
and founded missionary stations, the Saxons rose as They 
soon as he turned his back upon their country, destroyed estr °y ed 
his institutions and carried their raids into Frankish ter- 
ritory. Nine times they shook off the foreign yoke and Rose Nine 
taxed the energy of the inflexible conqueror for twenty Resisted 20 
years before he had the satisfaction of seeing Saxony ears 
submissive and Christian. 

The North Albigenses resisted ten years more. 

Ill PERIOD. 843-I4OO, FEUDAL PERIOD 

Feudal System 
. Military System of Feudalism. 

Europe was organized under the feudal system from 
the IX to the XIV century. 

As a political unity the name of Belgium disappeared 
and there arose a number of small principalities, with one^Spirft 
local names, but* the Belgian spirit of independence re- 
mained alive. 

Lower Lotharingia covered most of Belgium and 
Holland and soon was divided into several fiefs or prov- 
inces, of which Brabant and Luxemburg were the prin- 
cipal ones. It was often disputed between France and 
Germany and its major part was incorporated in the 
German empire. But it retained its independent spirit. 

The western part of ancient Belgium, called Flan- 

19 



FEUDAL PERIOD 



Seventeen 
Principalities 



Some 
Episodes 



Democracy 
Has and 
Defends 
Its Rights 



Baldwin, 
Iron Arm, 
Drives Away 
the Normans 



Marries 

Royal 

Princess 



ders, was apportioned to France in the Carolingian 
division. But it remained more Belgian than French. 
It extended to the Somme and comprehended Artois 
besides Belgian and French Flanders. 

During the Middle Ages under the feudal system, 
there arose seventeen well known states upon the soil 
of ancient Belgium of which today Belgium contains 
nine, France one (Artois) and Holland seven. All had 
their strifes for liberty and made strides in progress. 

Only some episodes of Belgian history are given here, 
and convey a fair idea of the free life of the Belgians 
during the Middle Ages, and of their struggles for 
liberty. 

Prosperity of Flanders. 

Flanders was for 800 years the most independent and 
the most progressive state of northern Europe. It was 
the communes or towns, . which means the people, 
that possessed valuable franchises, and defended same 
against all autocrats and tyrants that would curtail 
them. In England it was the nobility that wrenched the 
Great Charter of liberties from King John. In Belgium 
the guilds acquired franchises for their towns and al- 
lowed no one to infringe upon them. 

The Baldwins, Flanders, Enlightened Counts. 

The first count of Flanders, Baldwin the Iron Arm 
(862-878), laid the foundation of the greatness of his 
fief by two feats of daring and of bravery; the expul- 
sion of the Normans, who were the terror of Europe; 
and the capture and marriage of Judith, the daughter 
of Charles the Bald, King of France. 

By driving from his coasts - the pirates of the North 
who infested all the rest of Europe, Baldwin secured 
lor his land that peace that is necessary for any prog- 



20 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

ress. If they returned sometimes, they never got 
a foothold in Flanders, as they did in Normandy, 
England, and Naples — lands which they conquered 
and ruled as masters. That alone put Flanders at 
the head of progress in northern Europe. 

The marriage of the count to a Carolingian prin- 
cess, a descendant of the Great Emperor who had 
restored the Western Empire, assured the counts of 
Flanders a princely rank. At first there was a stren- 
uous resistance to the union, but soon the opposi- 
tion subsided and the king granted Baldwin the rich 
territories between the Scheldt and the Channel, thus 
making him one of the most powerful princes of the 
West. 

The counts of Flanders were worthy of the Iron Worthy 

Successors 

Baldwin, the terror of the Normans, and of Charle- Develop 
magne, the civilizer of barbarian Europe. They were 
men of foresight, who developed the resources of the 
country, especially the wool industry, and thus laid industry 
the foundation of the manufacturing and trading that 
made Flanders for 800 years the first land of north- 
ern Europe. Innumerable flocks of sheep covered 
the marshy seacoasts and the rich valleys of Flanders. 
Their breed was perfected so that the finest wool 
grew in the land ready for the manufacturer. Weav- 
ing was brought to perfection. All the trades per- 
taining to the manufacture of wool were in honor. 
Flanders became the seat of the wool industry — the 
basin of the Scheldt was the land of the broadcloth. Broad 
while the valleys of the Rhine, the Moselle, the- 
Garonne, produced wines for the world. Broadcloth 
was brought to such perfection that it rivaled the 
silks of India. 

21 



FLANDERS 



Masters 
Brought to 
England 



Commerce 



World-wide 
Trade 
Lively Port 



Beside wool, the Flemings cultivated flax, and 
became famous for their linen, and they are until to- 
day. The Englishmen come and buy the white flax 
of Flanders, which remains the best paying crop up 
to our own times. 

Envious of the prosperity of the Flemish factories, 
the kings of England offered fabulous sums to the 
Belgian weavers to draw those gold producers to 
their land, and they succeeded in transplanting the 
cream of the woolen industries into their land; first 
equaling, then eclipsing the Flemings. It was the 
foundation of English supremacy in manufacturing 
and trading. 

Such products would naturally find markets. But 
the enlightened counts of Flanders did everything to 
promote commerce and to draw the trade of Europe 
to the great seaport of Bruges. 

Far from exploiting the merchants, they gave them 
security and privileges, and thus they drew to their 
harbor the trade of the world. 

Mostly all the neighboring lands were still merely 
agricultural, without industries, when Flanders was 
renowned all over the world for her textures of wool 
and flax. Large cities sprang up on all sides and 
covered the land. 

Bruges was a Hanseatic metropolis open to the trade 
of Europe. She was the northern port of entry for long 
journey wares of the South. 

"Thither came for exchange the produce of the 
North and the South, the riches collected in the pil- 
grimages to Novgorod, and those brought over by 
the caravans from Samerkand and Bagdad, the pitch 
of Norway and the oils of Andalusia, the furs of 
Russia and the dates from the Atlas; the metals of 



22 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Hungary and Bohemia, the figs of Granada, the 
honey of Portugal and the wax of Morocco and the 
spices of Egypt; 'whereby/ says an ancient manu- 
script, 'no land is to be compared in merchandise to 
the land of Flanders/ " 

Factories or privileged trading companies from sev- 
enteen kingdoms had settled there; twenty foreign 
ministers resided within the walls, and traders visited 
the fairs of Bruges from the remotest parts of the 
world. In a single day of i486, one hundred and fifty 
vessels arrived at Bruges from foreign lands. 

But the gradual silting up of the harbors on the Silting Up 
adjacent coast began to undermine the prosperity of ° 
the town towards the close of the fifteenth century, 
and its fall was accentuated by the rise of Antwerp 
and several inland cities in Belgium. 

Although for centuries Flanders was far ahead 9 ther 

.... States 

of the other principalities of the Netherlands, there 
were several other important states living their own 
individual life and growing in the development of 
their natural resources. Such were Brabant, Hainault, 
Liege, Luxemburg, Limburg, Holland and Gueldren. 

Struggles for Liberty 

Panorama. 

The industry and commerce of the Flemings was 
naturally carried on in towns ; and Flanders was cov- 
ered with cities. The manufacturing population were 
the makers and the masters of. the cities, and they en- 
joyed home rule. Charters were granted by their rulers, 
who were obliged to respect their rights and privileges: 
The town was called a commune or citv; it had its own Commune 
seal, a bell to convoke the citizens or burghers, and a 
belfrey to preserve the charter and to serve as watch- 

23 



FLANDERS 



Class 
Privileges 



Two 

Camps: 
Klauwaerts 
and 
Lilliards 



Citizens 
Defend Their 
Privileges 



Philip 
the Fair 
Tyrant 



tower and prison. It had the right to maintain troops 
and to build walls of defense. 

In opposition to the democracy stood the nobility 
and the rich merchants, who formed a patriciate. 

The fourteenth century saw the struggles of the 
common people, the manufacturing classes, against 
the aristocrats, composed of merchants, magnates 
and nobles, and led by the kings of France. The 
former followed the banner of Flanders; a black lion 
upon a golden field; and prided themselves on the 
name of Klauwaert, from the claws of the lion. The 
latter followed the French banner of the lilies, and 
they were called Lilliards and regarded as traitors by 
the patriotic Flemings. It was a national struggle 
for existence, for the kings of France were determined 
to confiscate Flanders to their crown. It was also 
a social struggle, for their followers in Flanders were 
the nobility and the aristocracy of wealth, who wished 
to rule and exploit Flanders as their fellows ruled 
and exploited France. The citizens of the towns arose 
in their numbers to vindicate, their political inde- 
pendence and their social rights. They fought for a 
century against the kings of France and their allies 
in Flanders. It is due to their struggles that the 
independence of the Belgian provinces has been 
maintained against the French cupidity; and that the 
rights of labor have been asserted and vindicated 
against the powerful kings of France. 

Philip the Fair, King of France, was one of the 
most faithless, tyrannical, revengeful and irreligious 
kings that ever reigned. It was he who, out of spite, 
broke up the temporary power of the Popes and cov- 
ered the great Pope Boniface VIII (1305) with such 

24 



tHE BELGIAN NATION 

brutal violence that it killed him. He imprisoned 
Guy of Dampiere, the Count of Flanders, on several Undermines 
occasions; he aroused his subjects against the count, Flanders 
and tried to enslave the Flemish. But they resisted his 

. Confiscates 

wiles and his violence and curbed his pride. He had imprisons 
fomented trouble between Count Guy and his people ; he 
cast in jail Guy's daughter to prevent her from marrying 
Edward I, the King of England. Finally, the Count was 
driven to despair and joined the forces of England, but 
he was betrayed by his ally and abandoned by the aris- 
tocracy among his subjects and was compelled to consti- 
tute himself a prisoner of the implacable Philip the Fair. 

The aged count was cast in jail and his estates 
were declared forfeited for the crime of felony and 
annexed to the crown of France. Philip proclaimed 
himself as count and lord of Flanders, 1301. When 
he made his solemn entry into Bruges, with his haughty 
queen, Joan of Navarre, she found herself eclipsed 
by the sumptuous customs of the ladies, and she 
exclaimed, full of spite: "I imagined myself alone 
to be queen, but I see hundreds of ladies more 
queenly than myself." 

The haughty Jacques de Chatillon was appointed 
governor and was supported by the Lilliards. Exac- 
tions and oppressions soon commenced; the walls 
of Bruges were blown up and a citadel built to keep 
the burghers in awe. The tyranny became so intol- 
erable that the Bruggelings burst out in a furious 
revolt, under Jan Breydel and Peter Deconinck. The Bruges- 
former was a man of Herculean strength, the dean of Decon1nck d 
the Butchers' guild; the latter a man of penetrating 
mind. The former was the brawn, the latter the 
brains of the insurrection. On May 17, 1302, all the 

25 



FLANDERS 

Liliiard French and the Lilliards were massacred and the city 

Executed wa s rid of its enemies. 

In the silence of the night Breydel crept with his 
butchers to the sentinels and cut them down as cat- 
tle. The motto, "Schild and Vriend," which a French- 
man could not pronounce without betraying his 
origin, was adopted to recognize the foreign oppres- 
sors. Soon the motto echoed all through the city, 
the people arose from their slumbers and all those 
with a foreign accent were hacked down. Many of 
the Lilliards were dragged out of their homes and 
executed by the indignant population. This terrible 
night was the beginning of liberation and it is called 
the Matins of Bruges, because the massacre con- 
tinued till daybreak as long as enemies were discovered. 
Four thousand five hundred enemies fell on that glo- 
rious day of national revenge. But Chatillon escaped 
with a few followers. The guilds of the towns and 
the sturdy peasantry stood up against the patricians 
and the French. All Flanders was soon in revolt, 
only a few cities remained in the hands of the enemy. 

Humiliated in his pride, Philip the Fair prepared 
a signal vengeance and called to arms the flower of 
his chivalry. Fifty thousand men entered Flanders 
to put down the revolt. First came the nobility of 
Artois, Champagne and Picardy; then a contingent 
sent by John of Avesnes, Count of Hainault, and a 
multitude of Lilliards; finally the mercenary troops 
formed by German horsemen, and Genoese cross- 
bowmen. That brilliant army was placed under the 
Army Enters skillful Robert of Artois, the brother of the King. 

F landers 

Courtrai was the object of attack and the Flemings, 
anxious for its defense, ranged themselves on the 

26 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

plain of Groeninghe, which was covered by a canal. 
They were led by young Guy and William, the grand- 
sons of the old count, and a few knights who dis- 
mounted to fight on equal terms with their fellows. 
It was a bold stand to take, for a small and unarmed 
crowd against the flower of French chivalry. About 
20,000, armed only with piques, which they had em- 
ployed also as implements of husbandry, resolved to 
abide the contest with 8,000 knights of gentle blood, ' 
10,000 archers and 30,000 foot soldiers. But they 
were standing for home, for life and liberty and they 
conquered against all expectation. The intrepid 
French general, impatient to conquer, launched his 
knights against the Flemish bands, but they plunged 
and perished into the canals — horses and riders to- 
gether, in one inextricable mass; and in their help- 
lessness they were slain without pity by the Flemings. 
When the canals were filled with corpses, the horse- 
men sank into the marshv soil and when that was 
finally covered, they met a solid iron line of the 
Flemish pikes. No Fleming quit his place, none made 
any prisoner. They cut all down without mercy. 
It had never been seen before that the victors refused 
ransom from the dismounted knights. Panic seized the 
French, who fled in disorder, and in the evening 
reached Tournay hungry and frightened, and sold their 
arms to the citizens for a morsel of bread. 

Upwards of 1,200 knights and 18,000 soldiers fell. Battle of the 
Robert of Artois and Chatillon fell in the battle. The GoIden Spurs 
victors collected 700 golden spurs, whence the famous 
battle has been known as the battle of the Golden 
Spurs. 

Philip had lost his most experienced generals and 
the flower of his troops, but he would not give up 

27 



FLANDERS 



Warfare 
Continued 
by Philip 
and Suc- 
cessors 



The 
Flemish 



Side 

With 

England 

Against 

France 



Jacob Van 
Artevelde 



his idea of enslaving the Flamings. During the next 
two years he strove hard to repair the disaster of 
Courtrai. He finally gained the upper hand in small 
engagements, but new armies of Flemings were 
formed and hastened to the relief of Lille, which the 
king was besieging. Seeing the obstinacy of these 
patriots, he exclaimed: "Does it, then, rain Flam- 
ings?" He concluded a treaty granting independ- 
ence to Flanders and restoring the old dynasty, 1305. 
The aged count had died in prison and his son Robert 
of Bethune ascended the throne of Flanders. But 
Philip imposed onerous war indemnities and refused 
to restore the cities he had captured. New wars broke 
out under him and his sons, and were repeated under 
Philip of Valois, but Flanders remained free. 

During the whole century the French continued 
their war against the Belgians to subdue and enslave 
them, and they interfered in the quarrels between 
the counts and their subjects. 

Ghent: The Van Artevelde. 

During the hundred years' war between England and 
France, Belgium sided mostly with the English, from 
whom they received the wool for their factories. More- 
over the French kings had not ceased to attack Flanders, 
which was glad to have an ally against the insatiable 
neighbors of the south. The count of Flanders, Louis 
of Nevers, was a French sympathizer and took the side 
of the new Valois Dynasty. 

From L. Van der Essen: A Short History of Belgium 

"At this juncture appeared Jacques Van Artevelde, 

a man great in Belgian history. He was a member of 

one of the patrician families, wealthy, and much re- 

28 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

spected. In 1338 he became captain of the municipal 
army of Flanders and soon found himself even more 
powerful than the Count. When the English delegates, 
sent by Edward III to win Flanders to his cause, arrived 
in the country, they visited Artevelde as the real leader 
of public opinion. 

"Although sympathetic to the English cause, Artevelde Neutral 
partly fearing the resentment of the French King and 
partly wishing to prevent his country from becoming the 
battlefield of the hostile armies, first tried the policy of 
neutrality. He confined himself to assuring England of 
his friendship, thinking that this would suffice to win for 
Flanders the commercial advantage it needed. 

"But he could not remain neutral; he had to choose Sides With 
between the belligerents. That was a delicate and. dan- ng an 
gerous task, for the Flemings faced a conflict between 
their commercial interest and their duty toward their 
feudal lord, the King of France. Artevelde, 'the wise 
man of Ghent/ acted cleverly. On his suggestion, 
Edward III declared himself to be the true king of 
France, for he was the grandson of Philip the Fair 
through his mother, whereas Philip of Valois was only 
the nephew of the former ruler. The Flemings, easily 
convinced by these claims, put their scruples aside, and 
accepted the idea of the Anglo-Flemish alliance. The 
French fleet was destroyed by the English at L'Ecluse 
(1340), but Tournai was vainly besieged by the Anglo- 
Flemish forces. Artevelde became more and more the 
confidant of the English King, who called him mis fellow 1 
and highly appreciated his shrewd diplomacy. 

"The power of the 'wise man of Ghent' soon aroused Ca i ummated 
the jealousy of many, and was greatly endangered when 
the English King, annoyed by the reluctance of the 

29 



BRABANT 



Killed 



Philip Van 
A rtevelde 
Fisrhts 
Louis of 
Maele 



Flemings to conclude with him a complete treaty of 
alliance, suddenly abandoned his claims and left his allies 
in the lurch. A sudden outburst of hostility put an end 
to Artevelde's career. His enemies informed the people 
that he had favored England too much, that he had given 
the treasure of Flanders to the English King, and that he 
intended to offer the crown to the Prince of Wales. Only 
the last charge was true. But the people, stirred up by 
demagogues who had planned the fall of the 'wise man,' 
believed what they were told.- A furious mob attacked 
the house of Artevelde. While he was trying to persuade 
them that he was falsely accused, he was overpowered 
and ignominiously slain (1345). 'The poor exalted him, 
the wicked killed him/ that is the epitaph written by 
Froissart, his political adversary, in honor of the greatest 
Flaming of all times." 

The Ghentenaers aroused most all of Flanders against 
Louis III of Maele, the new count, who called the king 
of France to his rescue. They chose as their leader 
Philip von Artevelde, son of Jacob, who, however, was 
beaten and perished at the battle of Roosebeke. 

Thus the Van Artevelde, Jacob and Philip, father and 
son, made treaties with England, where most of their 
trading was done. They undertook fierce struggles 
against the French kings and saved their land from 
France and their liberties from the encroachments of the 
nobles. 

Franchises of the People All Over Belgium 

Joyeuse Entree in Brabant. 

"The consequences of the battle of the Golden Spurs 
cannot be overestimated. . . . The victory saved 
the national independence of Flanders and practically 
prevented the political absorption of the other Belgian 



30 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

principalities by Philip the Fair. . . . It also con- Charters of 
firmed the victory of the democratic elements over the of Liege 

Patricians in Flanders The craftsmen of 

Liege in the same year, and under the influence of the de- 
feat of the Flemish Patricians . . .. inaugurated a re- 
volt against the Patricians of their own city. After many 
years of bloody struggle, they succeeded in wresting from 
the Bishop, Prince Adolph de la Marck, the Peace of 
Fexhe, that practically founded the liberties of Liege, 
. . . which was safeguarded by the tribunal of the 
XXII." 



Brabant 



All through Belgium the craftsmen made successful 
revolts and secured forever valuable franchises and 
privileges. 

"One of the most famous privileges, won by the people 
during the communal struggles of the fourteenth century, 
is that called the joyeuse entree of Brabant (1354-56). o/tfJe 3 * 10118 
According to the stipulations of that charter of liberty, ^tree 6 
the territory of the Duchy was to remain undivided and 
undiminished; the seven important cities of Brabant were 
to keep in their common possession the documents con- 
taining the municipal liberties; no offensive war was to 
be waged, no treaty concluded, no inch of territory ceded, 
no coin made, without the consent of the subjects. Com- 
merce was to be free and only legal taxes were to be 
imposed. The Duke undertook to care for the safety of 
the roads, to protect his people from arrest in foreign 
countries, to keep peace between the Rhine and the 
Meuse and to respect the treaties concluded with 
Flanders and Liege. No native of Brabant might prose- 
cute a fellow-countryman before a foreign court. The 
Duke himself was to be subject to the laws of the Duchy." 

31 



WALLOONS 



Progress Not 
Uniform 



Luxemburg 
People 
Backward 
But Dukes 
Prominent 



Namur and 
Hainault 



Southwestern 
Group 

Brabant 
Controls 
Central 
Belgium 

Expands 
to Rhine 



Struggle 
for Self 
Government 
Kept Up 



Before any Duke could enter a city, he had to swear 
to observe every stipulation of the joyeuse entree. 

"The development of civic freedom and the spirit of 
democracy" existed mostly in industrial centers. 
. "In the more agricultural regions of the country, 
they were less in evidence or were introduced much later 
and they did not make such an impression on the life 
of the people." 

In the mountains and woods of Luxemburg, there 
was little political progress among the people. How- 
ever the Dukes were conspicuous enough to be elected 
emperors of Germany for about a century. 

The countries of Namur and Hainault were in close 
contact with Flanders and shared in its development. 
Moreover, the counts of Hainault were also counts of 
Holland. That made a great southwestern group of 
Belgium, which was most subject to French influence. 

The Dukes of Brabant were the power of Central 
Belgium ; their domains comprehending Dutch and Bel- 
gian Brabant and the marquisat of Antwerp. 

When the dynasty of Limburg became extinct, Bra- 
bant claimed it, so did Prince Henry of Luxemburg, 
who won several allies. But the Duke of Brabant routed 
them at Woeringen on the Rhine, 1288; took possession 
of Limburg and thus got control of the countries between 
the Meuse and the Rhine. They reached the Scheldt on 
the west. Louvain was their capital, whilst Bruxelles 
was made the capital by the Dukes of Burgundy. 

The Belgians continued their fight for self-govern- 
ment under all subsequent regimes, even those of the 
glorious dukes of Burgundy and the illustrious Haps- 
burg, Kiaiser Karl. On account of the great works and 

32 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

endeavors for the building up of a powerful Netherlands 
those princes put heavy taxes upon their subjects without 
consulting them, and every time they violently rebelled 
against such encroachments ; as an example of these up- 
risings the story of the Franchimontois is here given. 

LIEGE THE CAPITAL OF THE WALLOON COUNTRY 

Lamed- Wilier t. 

"Liege. lies on the borderland of the French and Ger- 
man speaking races. It was the capital of an ecclesias- 
tical principality, whose territory extended some distance 
up the river and over the wooded ridges and green val- 
leys of the Ardennes. The town had originally sprung 
up round the tomb of St. Lambert — a shrine much fre- 
quented by pilgrims. The Prince-Bishop of Liege was E . co ^ 
the vassal of the emperor, but his subjects had long con- Principality 
sidered the kings of France their natural protectors. It 
was in France that they found a market for their manu- 
factures, from France that pilgrims came to the tomb 
of St. Lambert or to the sylvan shrine of St. Hubert. 
Difference of language and rivalry in trade separated 
them from their Dutch speaking neighbors. We hear, 
as early as the loth century, of successful attempts on the 
part of the people of Liege, supported and directed by Democracy 
their bishops, to subdue the lords of the castles in their 
neighborhood. A population of traders, artizans, and 
miners were unlikely to submit to the pretensions of a 
feudal aristocracy. Nor was there a burgher oligarchy, 
as in many of the Flemish and German towns. Every 
citizen was eligible to office if he could obtain a majority 
of the votes of the whole male population. Constitutional' 
limits were imposed on the power of the bishop; but he 
was the sole fountain of law and justice. By- suspend- 

33 



LIEGE 

Struggles for ing their administration he could paralyse the social life 
of the State, and by his interdicts annihilate its religious 
life. Yet the burghers were involved in perpetual dis- 
putes with their bishop. When the power of the Dukes 
of Burgundy was established in the Low Countries, it 
was to them the latter naturally applied for assistance 
against their unruly flock. John the Fearless defeated 
the citizens with great slaughter in 1408. He himself 
reckoned the number of slain at 25,000. In 143 1 Liege 
was compelled to pay a fine of 200,000 crowns to the 
Duke of Burgundy." 

Heroic Death of the Franchimontois at Liege. 
The Walloons were as zealous of their liberties as the 
Flemings, and fought for same every time these were 
attacked. An example of their incomparable spirit is 
shown in the heroic stand that 600 Franchimontois made 
Th f w a §" a i nst their powerful Duke Charles the Reckless, at 
montois Wal- Liege, October 29, 1468. A revolt had been fomented in 
defenders Liege by the perfidious king of France, Louis XI, against 
1 erty y g J3 erie f ac tor and his guest, Duke of Burgundy, Charles 
the Reckless. Liege was the city of the Meuse, which 
had grown up under the prince-bishops and carried on 
a thriving metallurgical and manufacturing industry, 
spreading into the picturesque valley, studded with mag- 
nificent buildings, among Which the towers of the Cathe- 
Liege the dral of St. Lambert reached the height of the surround- 

Capital of . , , rr 

Meuse ing bluffs. 

The powerful duke hastened to Liege with two large 
arm'ies, dragging with him the perfidious Louis XL He 
camped at the gate of St. Walburge upon the bluffs that 
command the city from the north, and below at the 
gates of St. Leonard. Resistance with hope of success 
was out of question. Charles could destroy the town 

34 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

and exterminate the people. He was furious on account City at 

» . Mercy 

of the treacherous action of the French' king. The of uuke 
fortifications had been razed, The citizens had neither 
ammunition nor weapons, and were at the mercy of the 
exasperated monarch. 

G. Kurth. Abrege Hist. Belgiquc, p. 60. Translation. 

"Moved by a sublime despair, one of the Lie^eoi^ Daring 
chiefs, the valiant Tosse de Strouilhe, planned a last and 
daring attempt. The scheme was to take advantage 
of the darkness of the night to penetrate stealthily into 
the Burgundian camp and to ravish the duke (with his ^° fhike 1Se 
guest) or to kill him in the midst of his army. Mean- a * Night 
while the few remaining defenders of the city of Lieee 
would fall upon the two camps of St. Walburce and St. 
Leonard. There was hope that the enemy army, sur- 
prised in its sleep, and deprived of its leader and at- 
tacked on all sides, might be easily stampeded into a rout. 

u To execute the boldest part of this plan, men were 
required who could not be frightened by anything. Six 
hundred men of the country of Franchimont offered 
themselves. Gliding from the heights of St. Margaret 
to the gulch of Fond Girette, they scaled afterwards the 
abrupt rocks, upon which the ducal army was camping. 
As they expected, they found on this side the enemy 
army, in complete rest. Preceded by their scouts they 
penetrated from the rear into the Burgundian camp ; and 
arrived near the quarters occupied by the duke and the Penetrate 
king. They were reaching their goal; within a few Headquarters 
moments they were to realize their bold stroke. 

"But the washerwomen, who were grouped around a 
fire, recognized by their Liegeois accent, the scouts, who ^^co^ed 
had slipped among them and pretended to be Burgundian 
sentinels, that were just relieved of duty. They gave 

35 



LIEGE 



Awful Con- 
fusion, Des- 
perate Fight 



Terrible 
Havoc 



Prosperity 



Internal 
and External 
Struggles 



As In 

Ancient 

Greece 



Neglect of 
Waterways 



the alarm instead of making straight for the ducal 
quarter ; the assailants lost time hesitating between that 
and those of French Duke of Alencon. That saved 
Charles the Reckless. His guards awoke and had time 
to arm themselves, and likewise those of the king of 
France. 

"When the Liegeois made the assault of the two head- 
quarters, it was too late. The fray, however, was a ter- 
rible combat, carried on in torch light, with extreme 
confusion. The enemy did not know against whom 
they were fighting; the Burgundians were afraid of a 
new treason plot of the French king and the Liegeois 
heroes purposely kept up the illusion crying, Vive the 
king, Vive la France! Meanwhile the enemy discovered 
how few were their assailants. Surrounded on all sides, 
the brave defenders continued to- fight with an indomit- 
able courage, but finally all of them perished. If they 
did not have the pleasure to save their city, they had 
the glory to die for it." 

Splendor and Decline of the Communes. 

The communes had reached the apogee of power and 
wealth in the fourteenth century, but their very pros- 
perity brought quarrels between the aristocratic and 
the laboring class of the cities and also among the 
neighboring cities. 

It was the case of the mighty Greek cities of old who 
warred among themselves and fought those great wars 
of the Peloponnesus, of which the Greek historians give 
us so splendid an account. While Bruges and Ghent 
and other cities were quarrelling among themselves, in- 
stead of keeping open the great waterways to the sea 
they allowed them to be silted up, and they lost their 

36 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

commerce and industry, which were eagerly seized by 
England and by Antwerp. 

Thus Bruges, the great Belgian seaport of the Middle Eclipse of 
Ages, was cut off from her ocean canal communication. ruge ' 
Antwerp on the deep Scheldt took its place. 

The statesmanship of the Burgundian dynasty put an Dukes" ian 
end to these local rivalries, and inaugurated a national ^i^Cities 
policy, 'wherein the interests of the ancient cities were „ , 

r J 1 Make 

not only safeguarded but also promoted and not only Belgium a 
maritime Flanders, but the whole of Belgium became a Country 
world power and the richest country of the times. 

IV PERIOD REUNION OF PRINCIPALITIES 

Burgundy -Net her lands 1 36 J 

Reunion of Belgian and Holland Principalities, 
During the Middle Ages, particularism was the rule Feudal 
in Europe; i. e., the division in many fiefs. It was espe- i^ tlcu ar ~ 
daily pronounced where the people had made more prog- 
ress, as in the ancient territory of Belgium; which had 
no less than seventeen principalities. Spirit of 

However, those political divisions did not destroy the p™gf sts 
spirit of national unity that animated those countries at all 
times. That helped the Burgundian Dukes to unite under 
their sceptre the many states, that had belonged to dif- 
ferent houses, and to reconstruct ancient Belgium. 

Addition of Burgundian Domains. 

These Lords possessed moreover some of the Burgund- ^dd* T^*" 8 
ian countries, which formed a part of ancient Lotharingia, 

or the Middle Kingdom that lay between France and Restores 

Germany in the ninth century. Lotharingia 

The French people being united into a compact u n in cat i ori 

kingdom eager to expand, the Netherland principal- Necessary 

. . ' Before 

ities would be absorbed unless they were united into Aggressive 
one vigorous state able to resist the attacks of a 

37 



UNION PERIOD 



Effected 
Through 
States- 
men 



Mostly by 

Peaceful 

Diplomacy 



Philip 
the Good 



Dynasty 
Allied to 
Royal and 
Imperial 
Houses 



Centralizing 

Policy 

Resisted 



Franchises 
Respected 
Generous Co- 
operation 
from a Free 
People 



powerful aggressive neighbor. The unification of 
seventeen states separated for many centuries would 
require skillful diplomacy rarely found in the course 
of history. But it was found in the gifted dukes of 
Burgundy uniting the distinguished houses of Flan- 
ders and Valois. Through a series of marriages, 
negotiations and campaigns they succeeded in bring- 
ing together principalities which for centuries had 
been rivals of one another. It was especially through 
peaceful diplomacy that these great statesmen suc- 
ceeded in uniting the provinces that in ancient times 
had been one, and that naturally go together. Philip 
the Good was the most successful among all of them; 
his son Charles the Fearless was the only one that 
had recourse to arms to round off his domains and he 
perished by the sword. 

The dukes of Burgundy through their own rights 
were the equals of the great monarchs of the times and 
their male descendant? might have been elected as em- 
perors of Germany if they had lived long enough. Their 
female descendants married into the noble royal family 
of Spain and into the imperial house of the Hapsburgs 
and their descendants ruled Germany for five centuries. 

Such master rulers would naturally establish a 
strong government and they concentrated many 
powers in their hands; following the policy of the 
times which was one of centralization. In this they 
met with unyielding opposition from the peoples that 
had enjoyed valuable franchises for centuries and they 
learned how to respect those cherished rig-fits and 
obtained all the more the sincere cooperation of sub- 
jects, who being left free in their local affairs made 
the greatest of sacrifices to build up the power of their 
progressive dukes. 



38 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Data in the Reunion of All the Netherlands. 

Phillip the Bold, 1364- 1404, of the French house of 
Valois, Duke of Burgundy, marries Margaret of Flan- the Bold 
ders, who held the Burgundies and Artois from her 
former husband, 1384, and inherits Flanders from her Marries 
father. Philip purchases Charolais from the Armagnacs, panders 
i. e., Bernard, the father-in-law of the Duke of Orleans, 
regent for the mad king of France. John the Fearless, 
1404-19, opposed by duke of Orleans, murders him, 
1407, is proclaimed an enemy of the state, occupies 
Paris, supported by Henry IV of England. In the second 
period of hundred years' war, he liberates the queen of 
France, Isabella of Bavaria ; coalesces with her and con- 
quers a great part of France, 141 7, obtains possession 
of king's person, is murdered at Montereau by Orlean- 
ists, 1419. 

Philip the Good, 141 9- 1467. 1430, marries Isabella phili 
of Portugal. He is called "the founder of Belgium" by the Good 
Tuste Lips because he did the most for the unification of 

1 tS i ■ • The 

the Belgian provinces. Founder 

To avenge his father, who was murdered by the Alliance 
French, Philip concludes the treaty of Troy with the English 
English, 1420. Henry V of England married Cath- 
erine, daughter of Charles VI, and became regent and 
heir to France; his brother married Philip's sister. 
1423, siege of Orleans, raised by Joan of Arc, who is 
captured by Burgundians at Compiegne, 1430, and burnt 
by English, 143 1. 1424, marriage- Jacoba of Hainault to 
Gloucester of England. Philip the Good withdraws from 
English. 1432, treaty with Charles VI. Philip receives 
Auxerre, Macon, Peronne, Montdidier, and towns of 
Somme, is released from feudal homage, besieges Calais. 
Philip buys Namur, 1421-29, inherits Brabant and Lim- 

39 



UNION PERIOD 



Fickle 
Jacoba of 
Hainault 



Heavy Taxes 

Anger 
Subjects 



Revolts 
Quelled 



Treachery 
of Louis XI 



Established 

Powerful 

Monarchy 



burg after first cousins, John IV and Philip, 1430. Ja- 
coba of Hainault had left John IV and married Glou- 
cester, 1424, who invades Hainault, Jacoba is cap- 
tured by Burgundians, escapes, fights till 1428; cedes 
states in 1433, after remarriage surrenders Holland, Zea- 
land, Friesland and Hainault. Philip purchases Luxem- 
burg from Elizabeth Gorlitz, 1444. Son Charles heads 
League of Public Weal in France against overbearing 
Louis XL 

All those great works and enterprises, those polit- 
ical unions, required a vast amount of capital, and 
heavy taxes were levied, without due considerations 
of the local franchises, which aroused the people to 
rebellion. 

Revolt of Bruges, 1437, of Ghent, 1448-53 on account 
of tax on salt — conquered. 

Charles the Rash, 1467-77, last great figure of the 
Middle Ages: physical strength and energy, lofty 
ambition, terrible passion, indomitable obstinacy, in- 
satiable vengeance. 

Object I — To fight absolutism of Louis XI of France, 
royal trickster, universal spider. As Dauphin or crown 
prince Louis, unbearable at home, had been received at 
the Burgundian court, but he turned against his host. 
He aroused the cities of Liege and Dinant against him, 
and created all kinds of trouble. Object 2 — To con- 
solidate his countless and opulent estates into a mid- 
dle monarchy that would keep France and Germany 
apart. In 1465 as Count of Charolais, he headed 
League of Public Weal, with duke of Brittany and 500 
nobles, to resist encroachments of Louis XI — battle 
of Monterey, siege of Paris; treaty of Conflans gives 
Normandy to king's brother, gives Somme towns and 



40 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Guienne to Charles, 1468. . But declaration of states 
general, that it is illegal for the crown to dismember 
the realm. Marriage of Charles to Margaret, sister 
of Edward IV of England. Louis XI excites Liege 
and Dinant to revolt, and meets Charles at Perrone 
who compels him to accompany him to witness the 
destruction of those cities, 1469. Ghent had also revolted 
and was awed into submission. Treatv ' of Perrone 
declared invalid by assembly of notables — war 1471-72; 
peace of Senlis. 

1472, rescue and occupation of Guelderland. 1473, 
negotiations with Frederic IV, for royal crown, 
broken off — intends an attack on Cologne to help 
Bishop ruler — besieges Neuss. 

1469, Sigismund of Tyrol pawns Alsace Breisgau, Alsace 
Rhenish towns in Switzerland, to Charles : strong and Bought" 
severe Peter Von Hagenbach made governor of Alsace, 
is killed but revenged by slaughter and devastation. 
Sigismund joins confederates and Louis XL 

The Swiss rout Charles' army, and ravage Franche war 
Comte. The Lorraines (Rene) devastate Luxemburg, s^f s mst 
Imperialists war with him. 1476," Charles conquers 
Lorraine from Rene, he rashly invades Switzerland, is 
beaten at Granson and Morat by Swiss and Rene of 
Lorraine; 1477, slain in battle at Nancy. 

Mary of Burgundy, 1477-82, Maximilian of Austria. 
Marv erants confirmation of franchises or Grote priv- Privileges to 

: fe . Holland 

ilege to Holland. No man shall fill two offices ; no for- Confirmed 
eigner shall hold office. No foreign language used. Diets 
are free. Empty treasury — invasion of duchy of Bur- 
gundy, threatening the counties of Artois and Picardy by 
Louis XI, as lapsed fiefs. The spirited duchess of a 

41 



UNION PERIOD 



Louis XI 
Attacks 
Maximilian 
Defends 



Revolts of 
Flemings 



French 
Intrigues 



Italian 
Wars 



Spanish 
Marriages 



Regent 
Aunt Makes 
Peace 



masculine character marries the "last knight " Maxi- 
milian, 1477, who beats French at Guinegate. 

Duchy of Burgundy given up to France. Mary 
falls off a horse, dies, leaves Philip and Margaret. 

Philip the Handsome, 1482- 1506. Regency of Maxi- 
milian, 1482-93. Wealth and refinement of Flanders 
contrasted with German poverty, restlessness, etc. 

The Flemings seize the person of the archduke, but 
they are forced to yield by campaigns of 1484-85. He is 
confided to Margaret of York, Dowager of Burgundy. 
In i486, Maximilian becomes king of the Romans. 
Bruges, fearing the interference of German garrisons, 
arrests Maximilian and keeps him in jail for three 
months. Emperor Frederic brings army, and grants 
amnesty. 

The Dauphin was betrothed to a princess of Bur- 
gundy, but marries Ann of Brittany. As she was af- 
fianced to Maximilian, he leagues with Henry VII 
of England 1491 : Artois and Franche Comte restored. 
In Italy Maximilian joins the Sforza; he invests 
Ludovico Sforza with aukedom of Milan ; Emperor in 
1493. 1495, league with Ferdinand, Italy and Pope to 
expel Charles VIII, king of France, out of Naples. 

In 1496 and 1497 Spanish marriages: Philip and 
Joanna. Margaret and Juan. Philip refuses the Great 
Privilege, but recognizes other franchises. 

Charles V, 1 506-1 555. Maximilian regent, ap- 

points Aunt Margaret, who concludes peace with 
France. He enters Holy Alliance against French 
conquerors of Italy, with Henry VIII puts French to 
flight at battle of the spurs at Guinegate. 

15 12, Netherlands are formed in Burgundian circle of 
empire. 

42 



THE BELGIAN NAT 10 X 



Glory and Wealth of the Whole Country. 

Under the Dukes of Burgundy, 1 384-1479, and the 
Hapsburgs, 1479-1555, Belgium was the first land of 
Europe. Philip the Bold, the brother of Charles V, 
king of France, became duke of Burgundy after the 
extinction of the Capetian dynasty in Philip of 
Rouvre, who was married to Margaret of Male. By 
his marriage to the same Margaret of Male, the daugh- 
ter of Louis II, last count of Flanders, Philip became also 
the lord of Flanders. 

The dukes of Burgundy formed, after the kings of 
France, the most distinguished branch of the royal 
house of the Valois. They soon reunited the prov- 
inces of ancient Belgium. It was the sagacity of the 
third duke of Burgundy that mostly effected that 
restoration. 

Philip the Good, 1419-1467, was the most opulent 
prince of his time. He was the patron of arts and let- 
ters. He held his court at Bruges and supported a 
colony of artists which made of Bruges the museum 
of the Nord. Gorgeous styles prevailed; gold, silver 
and jewels abounded on all sides. The woolen indus- 
tries were so important that Philip established the 
Order of the Golden Fleece on the occasion of his 
marriage with Isabella of Portugal, thus honoring 
the great woolen industries, the source of Belgian 
greatness. It was the first official recognition of the 
power and rights of labor. The great order of the 
rising state had for emblem not some powerful fierce 
animal in threat, but the meek lamb, and its valuable 
wool — the source of Belgium's wealth and industry. 

. Mary of Burgundy, the granddaughter of Philip 
the Good, married the scion of the Hapsburgs, Maxi- 
milian, who became emperor of Germany. Their 

43 



Royal 
Marriages 
Unite 
Belgium 



Splendor of 
Bruges 



Order of 

Golden 

Fleece 



Recognition 
of Labor 



DIVISION OF NETHERLANDS 



Imperial 
Marriages 



Charles V 
Emperor 
Of Old and 
New World 



Native City 
Rebels — Is 
Punished 



National 
Hero 



children married to the children of the great Isabella 
the Catholic, who, with Ferdinand the Catholic, 
united Spain in one monarchy, drove the Mohamme- 
dan Moors into Africa and made possible to Colum- 
bus the discovery of America. Emperor • Charles V 
was the grandson of Isabella and the son of Philip of 
Burgundy and Joanna of Spain, and 1 he seemed to 
unite in his blood the noble qualities of the counts of 
Flanders, the Hapsburg rulers and the Spanish war- 
riors. He was born in Ghent and loved to call him- 
self a burgher of that opulent commonwealth. He 
was proud of his city of Ghent and he used to say 
jokingly of the capital of France, that he could put 
her in his grand Gant, which means glove in French: 
"Je mettrai Paris dans mon Gant !" In spite of the pride 
they had in their fellow citizen, Kaiser Karl, the Ghen- 
tenaers refused to pav the heavy taxes laid upon them 
and rebelled against him. But he hastened from Spain 
to reduce the rebels and did not hesitate to punish his 
fellow citizens, 1539. Charles was the world ruler of 
his day. It was under him that America was con- 
quered and added to the dominions of his house. He 
was the first white man who ruled America. So there 
was a time that the ruler of Belgium, a Belgian born 
prince, was also the ruler of the new world. He con- 
fided important positions of his empire to the sturdy 
sons of Belgium. Charles V is the national hero of 
the Belgians. The memory of "Kaiser Karl" lives 
until today among the people more than that of any 
other prince of past centuries. 

Under Charles V Antwerp was perhaps the most 
prosperous and wealthy city of Europe, surpassing 
even Venice itself. The broad and deep Scheldt makes 

44 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

one of the best soft water harbors in the world, Antwerp: 

' Sea Port 

where, without expense, the sea-going vessels are Metropolis 
cleansed from the barnacles that grow on them in the 
ocean. It penetrates sixty miles into the continent and 
forms the natural seaport of the best part of western 
Europe. Napoleon understood so well its importance that 
he constructed there the finest docks of the times, which 
excite admiration until today. 

Modern History 

FOURTEENTH-TWENTIETH CENTURIES 

In modern ages the Belgians, who for centuries had 
enjoyed a monopoly of trade in Northern Europe, 
suffered a commercial eclipse under foreign regimes, 
to rise again a free nation and to retake their ancient 
rank among the progressive peoples of Europe. 

In Northern continental Europe, Belgium alone re- 
mained faithful to the ancient church. But it paid dearly 
tor its adhering to its own conviction and refusing to fo r cr co C n- S 
side in with the violent reformers. It was persecuted science ' Sake 
and injured for the faith that it professed, but it re- 
mained unshaken in its religion and finally obtained its 
freedom of worship. 

But the material loss was sustained for the noblest of 
causes; for the liberty of conscience. It was to assert 
their belief in their ancient religion that the Belgians 
separated from the rest of Northern Europe, which took 
a new form of Christianity and boycotted them because 
they followed the dictates of their conscience and stood Commercial 
firm in the midst of chanp-ine- beliefs. Whatever a Ecll P se 

o o 

man may think of the different forms of Christianity 
he must give credit to those who have the courage to 
sacrifice their material interests for what they deem 
their spiritual good. 

45 



FOREIGN REGIMES 



Struggles in 
1830 



1914-18 



Contrast 
Between 
Statesmen 



V"c<-'m of 
Holland 



111 1830 the Belgians fought themselves free and they 
prospered again and they soon took back their ancient 
place in the commerce of the world ; before two genera- 
tions of independence had passed, they were the fifth 
nation in the volume of world trade. 

When the modern militarists were on their way to 
the conquest of the world, the Belgians again became 
crusaders for liberty. They sacrificed their land that 
"the world might be a fit place to live in." It is true 
they are paralyzed. for a generation to come — the Yzer 
country is in worse condition than Caesar found it — 
because it is a desert and the sea water is coverin " the 
fat meadows of its valley. But the Belgians are free 
and so is the world. 

FIFTH PERIOD! 1556-183O. FOREIGN REGIME, 
COMMERCIAL ECLIPSE 

Spanish Domination. 

The Rtirsaind i "an princes had shown real statesman- 
ship bv unitine the Netherlands together in one powerful 
state able to defend itself against aggressive nei^hborq. 
William of Orange showed himself their enemy bv divid- 
ing* them in two, mostlv to satisfv his own ambition. If 
William was astute in his plans he was unscrupulous in 
the execution and sowed religious dissensions in the 
country, in order to work out his own aggrandizement. 

Belgium was the special victim of Holland, which 
closed her rivers and stopped her sea trade, and she suf- 
fered a commercial eclipse that lasted over two hundred 
years. 

Belgium became the prey of the French King Louis 
XIV, who sliced off her southern domains and made no 
less than five wars of conquest on her territory. 

46 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Principal Causes of the Division of Belgium and Holland 

1. Absenteeism. 

Philip II. It is with Philip II that commences 
that inefficient government of the Belgian provinces 
by absentee rulers, who did not understand the Absentee 
situation. However able and practical the governors uninformed 
appointed might be, they were only deputies or substi- Belated 
tutes lacking the personal authority of a sovereign who 
never visited his distant subjects. The country remained Leave Land 
open to the machinations of its enemies whether inside or Revolts and 
outside. Ambitious princes found it possible to sow dis- 
sensions in the land, and even detach parts of it from the 
sovereign. Hostile neighbors could invade and sub- 
jugate whole provinces before the main power found 
time to send defenders to the hitherto abandoned 
country. 

2. Intrigues and Violence. 



Attacks 



v s 



William of Orange cut off the tie that united Hoi- Int £f>?r s 

fe m of William 

land to Spain, and organized an aggressive republic the Silent 
which became powerful and proved itself an enemy Belgium 

r i -r-, 1 • 1 1 1 • 11 • Used as a 

of the Belgians by closing their rivers, and shutting Subject 
them out of the sea trade. The Belgian provinces were oun ry 
treated as a dependency of Holland, to be exploited by 
the Hollanders, until they could be dismembered and an- 
nexed without provoking European wars. However, 
the Belgian people concentrated as it were within their 
narrow boundaries, developed their fields and, their mines 
and grew in numbers and in wealth. 

Data in Division and Wars. 

Philip II, 1556-1598, Absentee Ruler. Withdraws Chronicles 
to Spain, appointing his sister Margaret of Parma as 

47 



FOREIGN REGIMES 



Plots of 
William the 
Silent 

Great 
Generals : 
Alva 

Requesens 

Farnese 

Victories 



Confedera- 
tion of 
Arras Union 
of Utrecht 



Permanent 
Division 



Independ- 
ence 



governess, Cardinal Granvelle, archbishop of Mechelin, 
and new bishoprics to defend the faith. 

Plots of William the Silent: petitions against the 
Cardinal — violence and vandalism of' fanatical Calvinists. 
Duke of Alva, 1567-73, comes with army, establishes 
a tribunal of troubles against the agitators. Requesens, 
1573 — conquers, but unpaid soldiers pillage and retal- 
iate. Pact or pacification of Ghent to drive away the 
foreigners — 1578-92. Farnese takes the cities, conquers 
all enemlies, fights English (Armada) and Huguenots. 
Violences of Protestants provoke the Walloons, who form 
with the Flattnings the confederation of Arras for the de- 
fense of their faith. The northern provinces form the 
union of Utrecht under William of Orange, feigned 
offer of sovereignty to foreign princes — Belgian Prot- 
estants and merchants are drawn to move to Hol- 
land, which thus acquired the restless and aggressive 
population of the south and drained the resources of 
Belgium. 

Republic of the United Provinces of Holland, 1579; 
Belgian Provinces under Spain, 1579-17 13. 

Farnese, 1578-92, was an invincible general, who beat 
all the disturbers of the peace, and all the enemies of 
the state. 

Albert, 1 598-1 621, and Isabella, 1633, Sovereigns. 

Loss: Nieuport, and gain: Ostend — truce; 1624. Hol- 
land and France make a partition treaty about Belgium 
and attack same. 

Belgium was the cockpit of Europe at all times, but 
especially in the long struggle between the Hapsburgs 
and the Bourbons for the possession of fertile Belgium. 
In 50 years, ten great battles were fought on its soil. 

Five wars of conquest by Louis XIV. During his 
minority the thirty years' war was continued against 



48 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Spain and prolonged till 1657. The victor}- at the Dunes J nsa - tia xiv 
secured Artois, etc. Louis XIV himself carried on five Five Wars 
wars of conquest against the coalitions of Europe. of Conquest 

I. 1661-64, Devolution war, twelve Belgian cities cap- 
tured. II. 1671-72, Holland invaded, digues' broken, 
inundation, Belgium the theater of war. Coalition. 
Franche Comte allowed. III. War, 1680. Chamber 
of reunion claim historical dependencies, Strasburg, 
Lorraine. 

IV. War. 1688. Grand Alliance organized by 
William II — French win at Fleurus, Steenkerke, but 
William beats the Irish at the Boyne. To gain the 
good will of Charles the king of Spain, Louis signs the 
treaty of Peace of Ryswick, 1679, keeping only Alsace 
Franche Comte, and eighty-two reunited places. Holland 
garrisons in Belgian cities. 

V. Spanish succession war against Austria, 1701- 
13. 1st period: Philip seizes Spain, French beaten at 
Hoechstadt and Audenarde by Eugene of Savoy and 
Marlborough. Louis negotiates for peace. 2nd period: 
1708, routed at Malplaquet Louis signs treaty of Utrecht, 
1713. Belgium given to Austria. Barrier cities in south 
Belgium. Garrisoned by Hollanders. 

Austrian Domination, 171 3-1 794. 

Belgium is completely shut off from all international Belgium 

Isolated 

relations. A special treaty between Holland and Austria 
was added to the treaty of Utrecht, granting the Dutch 
the right to garrison Belgian cities .as a protection against 
France, whence it was called the Barrier Treaty. Gar- 
risoned in the south by Holland troops as a defense 
against French aggression, shut in from the north by the 
Holland frontiers which closed the navigation of. the 
rivers, Belgium was excluded from all commerce with 

49 



KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 



General 

Company 

Suppressed 



Mary 

Theresa 

Popular 



Son 
unpopular 



Revolution 



Defense of 
Religion 



Mary Theresa, 
attached to the 
succession war. 



the outside world. But she went developing her national 
resources, and growing in population. 

Locked in within her own borders, Belgium concen- 
trated her efforts in the development of her own re- 
sources. 

After a century she was strong enough to shake off the 
Holland yoke and to establish her own independence. 

In 1723 a general company of commerce was 
founded to develop Belgian trade, but it was sup- 
pressed at the reclamation of England and Holland; 
the latter paying for the suppression of a competing 
company. 

1740-80. The Belgians remained 
Hapsburg, during the Austrian 
Mary Theresa and her brother 
Charles of Lorraine the governor were very popular 
among the Belgians. Her son, Joseph II, 1780-90, 
was very unpopular on account of his meddling in 
ecclesiastical affairs. The suppression of the dio- 
cesan seminaries and the erection of a general semi- 
nary, to be taught by philosophical professors, pro- 
voked a revolution which proclaimed the independence of 
the United Belgian States, 1790. Joseph's brother Leo- 
pold II, 1790, won the Belgians back by returning their 
franchises. 

French Domination 1794-1814. 

The farmers resisted the devastating hordes of 
the French infidels in Flanders, the Kempen and 
Luxemburg and they preserved most of their 
churches from desecration. 

Belgium was again the battlefield of Europe, during 
the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. 



50 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

It is on her soil that the first, the greatest number A Batt i e . 
and the last battles were fought. ' field 

The Scheldt was opened to commerce. Napoleon 
made of Antwerp the most commodious seaport of Antwerp 
Europe as a rival to Hamburg or London. 

Dutch Domination — 1815-30. 

In order to give the Orange dynasty a share in the 
redistribution of European lands and to oppose a 
firm barrier to new French invasions, Belgium was Barrier 
united to Holland in one kingdom without having A gafn S t m 
been consulted in the matter. France 

William I, 1815-30, king of Holland, was a narrow 
and stubborn autocrat, who treated the Belgians 
as a conquered people, and lost them through his Taxa- 

persecutions. He imposed enormous taxes on the tion Ostracis- 
Belgians to pay Holland's debts; he made the knowl- Walloons 
edge of Dutch obligatory to all governmental officials, 
which excluded the Walloons from holding govern- 
mental offices. He persecuted the clergy (Bishop 
deBroglie) and attacked the liberty of the press. In 
the year 1828, a union was formed between the Wal- Attack on 
loons and the Flemings to defend their liberty ; peti- J^ ber & of 
tions were made to the king for the redress of griev- Education 

, . - . , Press 

ances, which received no answer. Petitions 

In September, 1830, Bruxelles barricaded itself Re volutlon 
against the Holland troops and drove them to the 
Park, then away from the city. 

VI PERIOD. INDEPENDENT KINGDOM OF BELGIUM, 

183OI918 

Independent But Mutilated Belgium, 1830. 

The London conference recognized the independ- 
ence of Belgium as an accomplished fact. King Wil- Peacc 
Ham stubbornly refused to recognize it, his armies 

51 



KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 



1838 

Cession of 
Two Half 
Provinces 



Liberty of 
Conscience 
in Catholic 
Belgium 



Strife of 
Political 
Parties 



invaded Belgium, and advanced until they were re- 
pelled by the French; the following year General 
Chasse was driven out of Antwerp. It was only in 
1838 that William agreed to recognize the independ- 
ence of Belgium, on condition to give up to him the 
half of Limburg and the half of Luxemburg. What 
right did he ever possess over any part of Belgium, 
but the favor of the autocratic congress of Vienna, 
which sacrificed the interests of nations to the interests 
of dynasties? 

Accustomed from the past centuries to hold rivers 
and territories from their southern neighbors, the 
Hollanders refused to give up Limburg and Luxem- 
burg, which were in Belgian hands and which are 
evident Belgian territory. To arrive at a temporary 
peace and settlement, the Belgians gave up for a time 
those territories, thinking that some day, time and 
circumstances will restore their lands. 

Belgium, a Catholic people, had expelled a Protes- 
tant king, who tyrannized over conscience, now 
elected another Protestant king, who was a cham- 
pion of religious liberty, to-wit: Leopold of Saxe- 
Coburg. It inscribed liberty as the corner stone oi 
its constitution. After centuries of foreign rule, it 
was finally allowed to rule itself, and it gave to all 
its citizens the fullest right of self-development: it 
grew and prospered and took a remarkable place among 
the nations of the world. 

Two political parties arose in Belgium — the Cath- 
olic and ,the Liberal, the former being conservative, 
the other fluctuating. Both are progressive and their 
strife is often lively. The king forms a useful bal- 



52 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

ance of power between the parties. Of late the 
Socialists have taken the lead among the Liberals. 

Bruxelles, the bilingual capital, soon became a center 
of arts and finances. 

Superior Dynasty. 

Belgium was happy in the choice of a dynasty, that dS 8176 
was to raise it in less than a century to a prosperity 
equaling that of the great powers. 

Leopold I, the wise founder, solidly established the 
kingdom. 

Leopold II, the keen statesman, developed the re- Development 
sources of the country and found an outlet for its 
produce in the Congo, the only unexplored and unoc- 
cupied part of the world. 

Albert I was the heroic defender of his little land Belgium the 

Rampart of 
against the COIOSSUS of the north. Civilization 

When driven by sheer numbers from his country, 
he took a stand on the Yzer River, and for four years 
he held the invader from crossing into England. As Against 
Baldwin 1,000 years before had stood as the sentinel 
of Europe against the savage Normans, so Albert the 
Brave stopped the advancing Teutonic hordes on that 
very sea coast. At his side stood Queen Elizabeth as Queen 
nurse of the wounded and mother of the people : an angel 
of consolation in the dire trials of the Belgians. 



Elizabeth 



BELGIAN HEROISM IN WORLD S WAR 

Monograph 
On the night of the 3rd of August, 19 14, Belgium was 
served an ultimatum by powerful Germany requesting H 
passage through its territory. It had to choose between Stands 
dishonor or destruction. Only twelve hours were Germany 
granted for an answer. It was suddenly surprised, hav- 

53 



eroic 



King Albert 
Stops the 
Powerful 
Kaiser 



The Forti- 
fied Cities 
Cities 
Delay the 

Germans 



Who Are 
Beaten on 
the Marne 



WORLD S WAR 

mg been assured that there was no thought of violating 
its neutrality. It did not hesitate. The answer was : "We 
cannot break our international obligations. We will de- 
fend ourselves with all the means in our power. " It was 
the struggle of David and Goliath. 

With an army ten times smaller and weaker than her 
enemy's, Belgium withstood long enough the German ad- 
vance to give France and England time to mobilize their 
forces and to oppose an effectual barrier to the German 
hordes. It was little Belgium, animated by its valiant 
king, Albert, who stopped the most powerful conqueror 
in the first pride and exultation of his victory. 

There were only three fortified cities in the land, 
Liege, Namur and Antwerp, and they made a heroic de- 
fense, and kept the invaders busy while the allies prepared 
their armies. The two former cities delayed the Teutonic 
forces a month while Joffre formed the French troops 
into resistless armies. Antwerp dela}^ed them for two 
months. Three sorties were made from its forts and 
forced the enemy to bring back troops from the French 
battlefront, thus materially helping the great victory 
of the Marne, which stemmed the German avalanche 
rushing toward Paris. It was the first defeat of the 
Germans. 



Stubborn Defense of Liege. 
New The defense of Liege by General Leman was the first 

Thermopylae episode of the war and a presage of what the whole con- 
flict would be. It was a repetition of the stand of the 
Franchimontois against Charles the Reckless. 

It is a fact that recalls the famous deed of the three 
hundred Greeks at Thermopylae, who stopped the millions 
of Persian soldiers rushing to the conquest of Greece. 



54 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Liege may be called the modern Thermopylae, for she 
was the first to stop the German avalanche advancing 
upon Paris and London and she did it regardless of the 
wreck and ruin that was sure to come. She fought for 
Belgian liberty. 

In spite of the enormous inequality of forces (eighteen Monstrous 

r i J . Cannons 

to one) Liege resisted from August the fourth to August 
the seventeenth. 

Nothing could resist the gigantic cannons which pul- 
verized the forts. General Leman never yielded ; finally 
he was captured. The last fort held out till August sev- 
enteenth. The women themselves who were left alone in Woman 
the metallurgical factories of the country, would not let Amazons 
the Teutons pass, nor enter their establishment, and 
poured boiling metal upon the advancing Germans. 

Battle of Haelen. 

The Gette-Meuse line was seized to oppose the advanc- Victory of 
ing Germans. The retreating army made a stand at 
Haelen, and the fortifications of Namur seemed to defend 
the south. A battle was fought at Haelen, wherein the 
Belgians were victorious despite their enormous inferior- 
ity in numbers and in weapons. But the Germans had Belgium 
gone into Belgium in such numbers that they threatened with 
to envelop the Belgian army, which retired into Antwerp. 

Defence of Namur and Walloon Country. 

There were heavv fights in the Meuse and Sambre Defeats on 

J ° Sambre and 

region. Namur was taken, Dinant and many towns were Meuse 
destroyed. Charleroi and Mons, where the French and 
English had time to arrive, were taken and retaken 
several times by the contending armies. 

Open towns offered no resistance; the Germans en- o°en S 
tered Louvain on the 19th and Brussels on the 20th. 

55 



WORLD S WAR 



Siege of 
Antwerp 



Orderly 

Retreat 

Belgian 

Army 

In Face of 

Enemy 



90 Miles in 
the Midst 
of the 
Germans 



Defense of Antwerp. 

The three sorties from Antwerp had hampered the 
advance of the Germans and kept troops busy in Bel- 
gium, preventing same from fighting at the Marne. 
The Germans decided to besiege Antwerp, and to capture 
it. The superiority of their monster cannons made 
the fall of the city only a question of time, the Scheldt 
being closed to the English ships. The siege lasted from 
September 28 to October 9, when the city surrendered. 
While the invaders were kept busy, the Belgian army 
was able to make safely its retreat upon the Yzer where 
the enemy was definitely stopped in October, 1914. 

Masterly Retreat of the Belgian Army 
One of the great feats of the Belgian army was its 
retreat through a country that was infested with enemies 
without losing many troops. It was only at the siege of 
Antwerp that 30,000 men passed the frontier and were 
interned in Holland. 

Belgium had only 131,000 soldiers, while it was 
attacked by millions of men. Still the king managed 
to protect their retreat, so that little losses were sus- 
tained in a long march of ninety miles, pressed and 
harassed by numerous bodies of German troops. At 
every cross water of the land where there was any chance 
to join the allies, the Belgian troops made a stand and 
stopped the Germans in their advance but the only place 
where the allied troops were still the masters, and could 
join them, was the Yzer country, and thither the Bel- 
gians retired. 

The Flanders Front: Three Armies Fighting. 
The Belgians entrenched themselves from Nieuport 
to Dixmude along the Yzer river, while the English 

56 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

occupied the canals of the Yperlee and the city of Ypers 
and the French operated in the hills- south of them, 
reaching them from their Arras front. It is here that 
the longest and most stubborn fight of the war took place. 

Baffled in his advance upon Paris, the enemy now 
turned his face to London, and wanted to force a passage German 
to the channel ports, whence he could attack England. Opposed by 
He brought all his powerful machines of destruction offensive 
upon the new western front. But General Foch had com- 
mand of the whole western front and planned to turn 
the German offensive by an allied counter offensive. The 
Belgians were to make a sally from the Yzer proper, 

the English from the Yperlee and the French from the mans Are 
fe r , Shut Off 

hills in the south, and then altogether they were to drive the North- 
ern Road 
the invaders to the east. If the offensive did not sue- to London 

ceed, the defensive fully succeeded, and closed the north- 
ern road of invasion to England. From October to 
November there w r ere two formidable assaults — one at 
the Yzer and another at Ypres. Furious battles of artil- 
lery and hand-to-hand struggle took place but the road The Second 
to London remained barred. It was the second defeat De£eat 
of the Germans and it broke their power of advance. It 
presaged their final debacle. 

The danger was extreme on account of the unshaken 
determination to win prevailing on both sides, and hardly 
stopped during the winter. The military operations re- 
commenced with- renewed force in the spring of 191 5. 
The fights raged mostly around Ypres, therefore, they 
are called the second battle of Ypres. Despairing of .B^ttie^at" 1 
winning by ordinary military means the Germans had p p * es nous 
recourse to the hellish device of poisoned gas at Gas Fails 
Boesinghe, which at first paralyzed the sturdy English 

57 



World's war 



Heroic 
Resistance 
of the 
Belgians 



The Re- 
lentless 
Machines 
Allow a 
Crossing at 
the Yzer 
Bend 



The 

Belgians 
Were Saved 
Through 
the Flood- 
ing of the 
Yzer Valley 



and Canadians but was soon eluded by gas masks that 
rendered the soldiers immune. 

Ypres was not taken, nor the road to London forced 
open. 

Such fighting lasted unabated four long years. 

Yzer Section. Fierce and Interminable Fights. 

It is here that the Belgians showed their most sturdy 
qualities, and the king proved his solid leadership. His 
army was reduced to 84,000 men who were exterminated 
by a continual fight and a risky retreat of ninety miles. 
It was without shoes and clothes, without arms and 
provisions. It was attacked with all the force of the 
German army for twelve days and for these days it was 
alone to defend itself. But the king knew how to ani- 
mate his soldiers and to brace them up with the certitude 
of the coming of the great allies. Every soldier became 
a hero; he disputed every inch of ground till his last 
breath. Finally the tremendous overpower of the enemy 
effected a crossing to the west bank at the Yzer bend and 
the Germans swarmed across the river. 

The Sea to the Rescue. 

The Belgians had no other shelter than the em- 
bankment of the railway which runs parallel to the 
Yzer river. The situation was hopeless. But the last 
resources was put in operation. The sluices of Nieuport 
were opened and the sea water which, during the high 
tide, stood above the level of the Yzer valley, flooded 
same, drowned the Germans and submerged their ma- 
chinery and opposed an impassable barrier to the Ger- 
man advance. But the fat meadows were ruined for 
many years to come. 

Exceptional Difficulties in the Yzer Country. 

The extreme moisture of the country filled the 

58 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

trenches with water as soon as they were dug. The No Shelter 

soldiers were standing in the mud and the water to their 

knees while they were harassed by the fire of the relent- ^ ater ^ Q 

less foe. Still they held out and they are the ones that 

closed the maritime road to the invaders. It was only the 

tenth day that the French could reach that dangerous 10 D of 

spot and they soon cleared the western bank of the stub- Solitary 

r J Fighting 

born Germans who held on to every place they had cap- 
tured. 

Shelter Created and Made Impregnable. 

The Belgians lost no time in improving their defenses ; Shelter 
they built up shelters above the ground with sacks of 
dirt, they constructed plank or branch walks over the 
marshy places, and they were able to withstand the re- 

J ■■■ ■' J ■ . ' '■ . 4 Years of 

lentless and furious attacks of the Germans for four Defensive 
years and to strengthen themselves for the next of- 
fensive. 

Not only did the Belgians defend the lower Yzer, 
but they made several sorties to sustain the allies in Several 

,'.-■-■ . Sorties 

their struggle with the.stubborn enemy of the country. 

When in July, 191 8, Foch started his offensive the 
Belgians bounded like liberated lions against their cruel 
oppressors and reeardless of any danger they carried 
the crest of Flanders, from which the hated enemy had in 1918 the 
so long harassed their land. They had a full share in pounce* 5 
driving them out of West Flanders and in hurrying and ^^ Their 
hastening the debacle that forced the proud invaders to 
sue for peace. The armistice was granted them November 
nth on harsh conditions which were imperative in deal- 
ing with treacherous and cruel enemies. 

Kinc: All ert made heroes of a handful of exhausted Albert 

Leader of 

and unarmed men who withstood four years of ceaseless Heroes 
attacks of the Northern Colossus, and finally bounded 

59 



WORLD S WAR 



System of 
Atrocities 
to Terrorize 
People and 
Ruin the 
Country 



Fire 



Fines 



War Con- 
tributions 



Enslavement 

and 

Starvation 



from their shelter to pounce upon the oppressors of their 
lands. 

System of Atrocities and Terrorism. 

The Germans brought in a new system of warfare 
full of atrocities that was to strike awe in. the civilians 
and destroy the resources of the land for generations. 
All was done systematically on a preconcerted plan and 
was calculated to break down the spirit of the people, to 
starve them to inaction, and to prevent their rehabilita- 
tion. When the Bishop of Liege asked them to stop 
those barbarous crimes, that cried for vengeance to 
heaven and for the reprobation of the civilzed world in 
the verdict of history, they answered that they "would 
win and write history." But their victims and the free 
nations are writing the history of the shameful deeds 
of those tormentors of mankind, and it is in vain that 
the Prussians try to deny them. The half has not been 
told. 

Many towns were burnt and the inhabitants shot for 
the trumped-up crime of one of them* The "library of 
Louvain was burnt. Absurd prohibitions were multi- 
plied in order to arouse the people to outbreaks, and 
to be able to fine them heavily and often. 

Exhausting war contributions were exacted and pro- 
visions commandeered, in such a systematic way, that 
anything that could be extracted from the people was 
done. 

The climax was reached when the Belgians were de- 
ported to Germany, and made slaves to work for their 
enemies. Transported in cattle cars, they were burdened 
with such heavy tasks to perform without any human 
food at all that within a few weeks those modern slaves 
were afflicted with consumption ; most of them died in the 

60 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

hands of their cruel masters and those who returned 
were like living skeletons. 

Belgians Not Demoralised. 

Did the Germans advance to break the morale of the Awe Does 
Belgians? On the contrary, they succeeded only in one Break Spirit 
thing; to-wit — to render their victims more decided of Belgians 
to resist such inhuman masters. Every week under their 
very eyes at Brussels, there appeared a paper, called 
"La Libre Belgique" which exposed all their crimes and Hardens it 
caricatured the tormentors of the Belgian nation. In spite L a Libre 
of the heavy sums placed upon the head of the editor and Bel s ic i ue 
publisher of that biting sheet, they were never able to 
find traitors to deliver that audacious Belgian into their 
hands. 

!fp Traitors. 

Unable to subdue the Belgian spirit, the Prussians Treason 

fe 1 ' None 

looked for traitors and spies to divide them but they 

found very few that would accept their bribes. 

There was not a single leading man that betrayed his 
country, nor even were there many of the starving labor- 
ing men that would listen to the hated invader. 

A T o Division. s 1{ 

Thev struck one last scheme, that of splitting the peo- Bewteen 

J . it- Flemings and 

pie into Walloon and Flemish elements. The Flemings, Walloons 
whose language is akin to the German, were not given Revolution 
satisfaction, in regard to their language. It was for the 
enemy an excellent wedge to split the nation. There were 
many patriots that grieved over such discriminations, 
and demanded the rightful use of the Flemish language. 
They were called Flamingants. Among them were ex- 
tremists, called activists, who put the language above DtfncuWes 
anything else, and would resort to any means and even 
combine with outside powers to obtain redress. Those 

61 



WORLD S WAR 



Activists 
Would 
Split 
Country 



Condemned 

as 

Traitors 



Tudges 
Exiled 



Culprits 
Executed 



Bleeding 

Belgian 

Nation 



fanatics became the tools of the enemy, to cut up and 
divide the land, officially (branded as such. At the in- 
stigation of the Prussians the extreme Flamingants 
demanded a political separation in two parts : Flanders 
and Walloni'a. Belgium was divided into two states by 
the German authorities and a Flemish ministry of agita- 
tors and upstarts was formed. But the Belgians are no 
traitors; the activists were regarded as tools of the 
Germans and traitors to their country. 

Magistrates Not Afraid. 

It is here that Belgian judges showed their integrity 
and their fearlessness. The courts unanimously 
condemned them for treason and cast them in jail, 
to be executed as traitors. They were released by 
the Germans, and the judges were exiled into Germany; 
that judgment branded them forever as traitors and ren- 
dered their stay in Belgium intolerable, even during the 
German occupation. But when the enemies were driven 
out, most of the activists fled the country they had 
betrayed and those that faced the contempt ' of their 
fellow citizens were cast into jail, to be executed as com- 
mon traitors. Belgium was more united than ever. 

The Saviors of the Civilians. 

What became of the whole country downtrodden and 
robbed by the occupying power? Who kept up the 
patriotic spirit? Who kept the people alive? It was a 
saintly cardinal, an able diplomat and two humane Amer- 
icans. 

The Germans did everything to terrorize the people 
and to provoke revenge or riot which would give a new 
pretext for plunder and for murder. Cardinal Mercier 
did not fear to raise his voice to protest against every 

62 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

crime. He called the war of defence a crusade and ^^Cardinai 
called the fallen soldiers martyrs of liberty worthy of Mercier 
heaven. His pastoral letters aroused the courage of 
the whole nation to an invincible strength, and instilled 
a calm resignation to the suffering citizens. 

Baron Cartier de Marchienne, minister at Wash-; 
ington, was a providence for Belgium. During the war 
he knew how to win the good will of America for the 
Belgians; during the peace conference he powerfully 
helped to secure the rights of his little country. He was 
made the first Ambassador of Belgium to the United 
States. 

The Germans plundered the country, requisitioned 
the stock and crops, carried away or destroyed the ma- 
chinery and wrecked every factory ; they deprived the Kept Alive 
population of the necessaries of life, and tried to starve Americans 
to despair or to death a nation that they had treacher- 
ously attacked. Many people were without food and 
looked like walking skeletons. A fearful mortality set 
in. But there were two generous Americans, Hoover 
and Whitlock, like angels of charity sent among* a hun- 
gry people. They procured many shiploads of goods 
from the sfood American people and they kept alive the 

& J . ii- The Na tion 

Belgian nation. Hunger did not enslave the liberty Was Alive 
loving Belgians who would never submit to their bar- Fought for 
barous oppressors. The knowledge that their people Somebod y 
were still alive and more hostile than ever to the German 
tyranny gave new life and courage to the soldiers in 
their muddy trenches of the Yzer. 

The Champions of Hitman Liberty. 

What steeled the Belgians in their stubborn resistance 
was the knowledge that the great democratic powers 
were fighting with them and for them and for all the op- 

63 



world's war 



Wilson's 
Statesman- 
ship Breaks 
Up German 
Combina- 
tion 



pressed nations of the world. The valor of France, the 
sacrifice of England, the courage of Italy, Roumania 
and Serbia and the weight of the United States were a 
guarantee of final victory and made them hope during the 
gloomiest tragedies of the war. 

Every ally had his share in the triumph; but there is 
one sagacious statemant who broke the chains where- 
with the Hohenzollerns had bound to their war chariot 
the Germanic and Slavonic kingdoms. It is Woodrow 
Wilson, the President of the United tSates whose four- 
teen articles overthrew the iron wall that kept Central 
Europe in the Prussian camp. His principle of the free- 
dom of nations restored the claim of liberty to the down- 
trodden peoples and the triumph of Foch gave that liberty 
to the slaves of Prussian militarism. 

It was a war measure as was Lincoln's proclamation 
of the liberty of the slaves in the United States ; which 
ended by freeing every slave in the world. So, before 
our century is over, Wilson's principle will procure lib- 
erty to every nation of the globe. 



Eclipse of 
Name 



Chronicles 



FIRST PERIOD : ROMAN REGIME, 57 b.C-476 a.d. 

Struggle. Ambiorix and Caesar. Culture, prosperity. 
second period: franko-belgian 476-843 

Formation of Frankish character in Belgium. Clovis and 
Charlemagne Belgian princes. 

Although the name of Belgium disappeared and was replaced by 
the Frankish name of its new masters, such as Lotharingia ; still 
Belgium remained the pivotal country of the West, and on its soil 
two Frankish Dynasties arose — the Chronology of the Merovin- 
gians and Carolingians belongs as much to Belgium as to France. 



64 



THE BELGIAN NATION 

Third Period: Feudal Regime 843-1364 

Under the feudal system the Belgian countri'es were divided into Persistency 
seventeen provinces, each having its local name — but they of Spirit 
remained quasi-independent, and never became part and parcel 
of the big monarchies either of France or Germany. They were 
so much one people in spirit and in custom that these numerous 
provinces were united into one nation during the reign of the 
Great Duke, Philip the Good, towards the close of the Middle Ages. 

There were nine Belgian states and seven Dutch ones. 

Belgian Principalities 

FLANDERS 862- 1 384. 

Originally a fief of France — lying between the Scheldt and 
the Manche, got imperial territories, 1050, such as Zealand, and 
it struggled against Holland for same. 

863-78. Baldwin Iron Arm repels the Normans, obtains the 
daughter of Charles the Bald, the king of France, with an 
immense territory. 

The counts introduce the wool industry — the source of the p roeress i ve 
wealth of Flanders. Valiant 

The counts were great crusaders. Counts 

Baldwin VI of Flanders marries Richilde of Hainault, 1050- 
73. 1191-1271 Countess Margaret marries Baldwin of Hainault. 
Their son, Baldzvin IX, Emperor of Constantinople. Leaves two 
daughters. Margaret's sons : Dampierre gets Flanders, D'Aves- 
nes Hainault. 

From the thirteenth to the seventeenth century the kings of 
France took all French Flanders, which was more than half of the 
country. 

Encroachments of the Kings of France and struggles of the struggle 
communes for their franchises— alliance with England— Count Against 
Ferrand and Guy of Dampierre were cast in jail. Revolt Autocracy 
against Philip the Fair, who was beaten at the battle of the Golden 
Spurs. Two last counts side with -France. Revolt of the Van 
Artevelde of Ghent. Saves the independence of Belgium. 

LOTHARINGIA KINGDOM OF THE CENTER ' , 

840-55. Lothaire I misbehaves — must abdicate. Division be- 
tween his three sons: Louis II, Italy; Lothaire II, 855-69, Loth- 
aringia proper; Charles, 855-63, south of Vosges. At his 

65 



Divided in 
Upper and 
Lower 
Lotharingia 



Provinces 






Have Regu- 
lar Male 
Descendants 
for Six 
Centuries 

Dukes of 
Burgundy 
Unite 17 
Provinces 



Union with 
Flanders 



CHRONICLES 

death part is divided between his two brothers. Lothaire's divorce. 
After him Lotharingia is divided between his uncles, the kings 
of France and Germany. It is disputed between their successors 
and mostly incorporated in Deutschland. Anarchy. 956, St. Bruno, 
brother of Otto the Great, divides it in Upper Lorraine on the 
Moselle at the foot of the Vosges — and Lower Lorraine on the 
Middle Meuse — which were separated by the Ardennes forest. 

LOWER LOTHARINGIA IN BELGIUM 

The Belgian part was divided in the different provinces that 
persist until today. That country was not any more cut up than 
the other countries of Europe at that epoch, nor was it extin- 
guished. It did not divide the common spirit and love of liberty 
that animated the Belgians of the Middle Ages and that has con- 
tinued to animate them until today. 

Strong dynasties arose and had valiant male descendants for 
about six centuries. Then the throne went to female descendants 
married to foreign princes of considerable power. The dukes 
of Burgundy gathered up seventeen states that cover about Bel- 
gium and Holland of today. Philip the Good, 1419-67, inherits 
or purchases Namur, 21 ; Hainault and Holland, 33; Brabant, 30; 
Luxemburg, 43. Charles the Reckless buys Guelders and Alsace. 
The Burgundian princes lead Belgium into prosperity; besides 
Artois, now part of France. 

BRABANT AND ANTWERP 

967-1005. Carolingian Dynasty. Charles of France fights 
Hugh Capet, son Otto dies childless — daughters marry the counts 
of Louvain and Namur. Louvain capital. 

1005-1106. Godfrey Dynasty. Godfrey V of Bouillon, 1076- 
1106, kills the adversary of Emperor Henry IV, who makes him 
Duke. I. Crusade: King of Jerusalem. 

Louvain Dynasty, 1 106-1406: Three Godfries, three Henries, 
three Johns. 

Burgundian D. 1400, Brussels capital, Antony. John IV erects 
the University of Louvain, 1426. 

hainault 875-1433 

I. Dynasty 875-1315. Reginald Long Neck. 

II. 1192-1279 Flemish. Union with Flanders. Countess Rich- 
ilde marries Baldwin (v). Baldwin (ix) Crusader emperor of 
Constantinople. 



66 



THE BELGIAN NATION 



III. Dynasty Avesnes 1299-1356. Gets Holland and Zealand. Holland 

IV. Dynasty Bavarian 1356-1433. Jaqueline contracts four 
marriages — cedes counties to Philip the Good. 

NAMUR 908-I418 

I. Dynasty Albert I.=Ermengard Carolingian. 

II. House of Fladners 1196-1418. Yolanda.=Peter of Courte- 
noy, Emperor Constantinople. Sold to Guy Dampiere 1263. 



LUXEMBURG 963-I433 

I. Dynasty 963. 

II. Dynasty Ermesinda i2i4=Waleran of Limburg. Union till 
defeat of Woeringen by Brabant 1280. 

Henry V becomes Emperor Henry VII 1308-T433. Son John 
the Blind marries Elizabeth of Bohemia : Emperors of Ger- 
many: Charles IV, 1347. Wenceslaus II. Sigismund who cedes 
Luxemburg to niece, Elizabeth de Gorlitz, and she marries Bur- 
gundian and cedes to Philip the Good. 

By congress of Vienna it was made a grand duchy under the 
king of Holland 181 5. In 1830 it fought with Belgians for inde- 
pendence, 1830-39 ; ceased to hang to Germany, 1866. 1890 passes 
to Nassau house. 

For five centuries Luxemburg was united to the Belgian prov- 
inces. In 18 1 5 it was made a Grand Duchy under the rule of the 
king of the Netherlands and became a member of the German 
Confederation. It joined the Belgian revolt against the Nether- 
lands and continued in Belgian hands until 1839, when part of it 
was ceded to Belgium, the king of the Netherlands ruling as 
grand duke over the remainder. It was again in the Zolverein 
1842-62. In 1867 the International conference of London and 
the treaty of London made it a neutral independent state under the 
Orange Dynasty. In 1890 by the Salic law it passed to Adophe of 
Nassau— whose daughter, Adelaid, reigned since 1890 till 1919. 

The Begian Province: Area 1706 sq. m. ; popuation 219,210. 
The Grand Duchy : Area 998 sq. m. ;• population 245,888. Iron 
deposits. Catholic religion. 

Luxemburg and Limburg joined the Belgian Revolution 1830 — 
were divided in two between Belgium and Holland 1839. 

LIMBURG 1 064- 1 288 

Waleran the Old, of Arlon, builds Castle of Limburg. Wale- 



Limburg 
Dynasty 

Bohemia 
Empire 



Grand Duchy 
1815 



Appanage of 
Netherlands 



Football of 
Powers 



67 



CHRONICLES 



Domain 
Equal to a 
Province of 
Actual 
Belgium 

Progressive 



Philip The 
Good 

Reunites 
Belgium 



ran III marries Ermesinda,, heiress of Luxemberg 1190. Lim- 
burg is conquered by Brabant by battle of Woeringen 1288. 

LIEGE, ECCLESIASTICAL PRINCIPALITY, VIII 1 795 

The see of Tongres was transferred to Maestricht — then to 
Liege. Charles Martel and Charlemagne invested the bishops 
with temporal jurisdiction. Their domain was extended mostly 
along the left basin of the Meuse. In actual Belgium it would 
occupy as much territory as a province. It was stretching from 
Holland to France. The industries were highly developed — there 
raged wars with neighboring powers — and struggles between the 
archbishop, the nobility and the people. 

Fourth Period: Union of Ancient Belgium 

NETHERLANDS BURGUNDY I364-I555 

Union of the Belgian Principalities under the Dukes of 
Burgundy. 

Necessity of union against united France. Middle kingdom 
revived. Empire reached by descendants. 

Centralizing policy resisted by Flemings. 

Philip the Bold, 1364. Margaret, Heiress of Flanders, 1304- 
19. John the Fearless. Rivalry : Orleans and Burgundy murders. 

Philip the Good, 1419-67. Splendid court. Order of Golden 
Fleece instituted to glorify the woolworkers. Against the French 
kings. Inherits or buys provinces of ancient Belgium. 1421, 
Norman. 1433, Hainault (Jacoba had married Burgundian; 
marries three others). 1430 Brabant. 1443, Luxemburg. Taxes. 
Result of heavy taxes revolt subjects; Bruges 1437, Ghent 1448- 
53; who are subdued. 1467-77 Charles the Rash, Gueldren. 
Treachery Louis XL Alsace bought. War against the Swiss. 
Mary of Burgundy i^yj=Maximilian of Austria. Priveleges 
defended. Revolt of Flemish and capture of Maximilian. 
French intrigues. Attack by Louis XI, defense by Maximilian. 
Spanish marriages. 1505-55 Charles V, born in Ghent, world 
ruler. 

Belgium central force and beneficiary of world empire. Com- 
merce with old and new world. Antwerp. Agitators sow 
religious divisions under mild rule of Charles' aunt and sister. 



68 



THE BELGIAN NATION 
Fifth Period: Foreign Regimes 

DOMINATION OF SPAIN, 1555-1713 

Secession of Netherlands Caused by Absentee Rulers and Plots 
-of William the Silent. 

1555-89. Philip II withdraws to Spain and governs by aunt 
and sister, secret propagandism. Plots of William The Silent. World 
Great generals of Spain win victories. 1579 confederation of Separate* 
Arras by Catholics — union of Utrecht by Protestants ; north 
independent and preying upon south ; commercial eclipse of South 
Belgium. 

Belgian Provinces under Spain. 

Distant lands united by inheritances are seldom well admin- 
istered. 

Invincible generals could not relieve Belgium. 

1598-1624. Independence Under Albert. Isabella (1633). Hol- 
land and France make a partition treaty about Belgium. Wars be- 
tween Spain and France. Artois lost. 

1661-1713. Five Wars of Louis XIV to Subdue Belgium. 

First, devolution war 1661-64; twelve Belgian cities. Second 
war against Holland, Franche Comte allowed. Third war Struggles 
1680. Historical dependencies : Strasburg, Lorraine. Fourth prance 
-war 1698-97. Grande alliance; fortunes change. Peace of Rys- 
wick, half of conquests returned to get the will of Spanish king. 
Fifth war. Spanish succession. Philip V seizes Spain, Louis XIV 
suffers defeat, asks for peace 1708, routs. Bourbons keep Spain 
only. 

I713-94. DOMINATION OF AUSTRIA 

Belgium isolated from the world. Rivers closed in the north, 
limits guarded in the south. General Indian company suppressed. 

Mary Theresa 1740-80. Belgians faithful in Austrian suc- 
cession war. Mary and her brother, Charles de Lorraine, benef- 
icent, popular. Joseph II, 1780, unpopular reformer. General 
seminary under his professors condemned. Revolution 1782. 
Brother Leopold II wins back the Belgian people. 

DOMINATION OF THE FRENCH I794-1814 

Farmers war against infidels. Belgium, the battlefield. Ant- 
werp made a big port. 

69 



CHRONICLES 



Wisdom 



Statesman- 



Heroism 



DOMINATION OF THE NETHERLANDS 1815-3O 

Barrier against France. 

William I stubborn. Overtaxation. Attacks on liberties of 
language, worship, education and press. Revolution. 

Sixth Period: National 

INDEPENDENT KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 183O-I918 

Leopold I Saxe Coburg-Gotha. Superior Dynasty. 

Sudden invasion of Dutch ; repelled by French. No peace before 
half of Limburg and Luxemburg are sacrificed 1838. Catholic 
university of Louvain opened. Leopold, a wise man, develops the 
resources of the country, forms balance of power between the 
contending parties. 

1865- 1 909. Leopold II, 1870. Liberals want monopoly of 
education and tyrannize their opponents until they are over- 
thrown. 1893, universal suffrage with system of plural vote. Congo 
discovered and colonized, is recognized by powers as a Free State. 
Slowness of people to prepare for war leaves Belgium at the 
mercy of the Prussians. 

1909. Albert I. Elizabeth of Bavaria. The heroic defender 
of his little land against the colossus of the north in the world 
war, 1914-18. 



70 



Index 



A 

Albert I king of the Belgians and Elizabeth of Bavaria, 50. 54- 

59, 70- - 
Albert and Isabella, 48, 69. 

Alva, Duke, 48. 

Ancient History, 5. 

Antwerp, 32, 44. 54 Margraviate, 66. 

Area, 3. - 

Ambiorix and Caesar, 5. 

Arabs, 8. 

Atrocities do not frighten, 60. 

Avesnes, 6y. 

Austrian Domination, 69. 

Activists misguided, 61. 

B 

Baldwin Iron Arm, 20. 

Belgian nation. Origin, 1, 4. Prominence, 4, 43-44, 51-64. 

Belgian kingdom, 51-64, 70. 

Mutilated, 51, 70. 

Superior dynasty, 53, 70. 

Principalities, 17, 19, 65-68. 

Name eclipsed, Soul persistent, 55. 

Sacrifiece for conscience sake, 45. 
Belgians League, 6. 
Brabant Joyeuse entree, 30. 

In control between Scheldt and Rhine, 32. 

Duchy, 66. 
Breydel and Decconinck, Matins of Bruges, 26. 
Bruges, Hanseatic city, metropolis of north, 22-28. 

Struggles against France. "Schild en Vriend," 26. 
Brand Whitlock, Ambassador, friend of the Belgians, 6^. 
Bruxelles, 31, 51, 53. 
Burgundy Netherlands, 37-45. Wealth, 43-44. 

Burgundy added, 37. 

Dukes reunite Belgium, 38. 

71 



Philip the Bold, 39. 

John the Fearless, 39. 

Philip the Good, founder of Belgium. Alliance with England, 

39-4Q- 
Charles the Rash, 40-41. 
Mary-Maximilian, 41. 
Philip the Handsome- Joana of Spain, 42. 

C 
Carrier de Marchienne, diplomat, ambassador, 63. 
Caesar, 5. 

Conquest ot C^ 1 d, expeditions, 6. 
Canals, 4. 

Catholic faith strong, 45, 43. Party, 52. 
Celts and Teutons original elements, 1. 
Clovis, 15. 
Carolingians, 14. 
Charles. Martel, 16. 
Charlemagne, 15-19. 

Conquests, 12. 

Saxon wars, 13. 
Charles V, 42. Emperor of Old and New World, 42-45. 

Native of Ghent, 44. 

Antwerp, 45. 
Civilization, 1. Love of Culture, 3. 
Culture, 3, under Romans, 5. 

In Middle Ages, 19-20-22, 36, 43-44. 

In modern times, 4. 
Composite nation, Celts and Teutons, 1, 

Commerce, 2, 22-26, 31, 44-45. Destroyed, 45-47, 68. Modern, 5. 
Congo colony, 5. 

Commune ^rights, 23. Splendor, 36. Decline, 36. Chronicles. 
Chronicles, 64. 
'Crusades, 2. First, 8-14. 

First, 14-17. 
Cardinal Mercier, 6^. 

D 
Dampierre, 25, 65. 

Democracy, 2, 24-25, 28, 31. , 

Deportations, 60. 
Drainage, 4. 
Division of Belgium and Holland, 47. 

72 



E 

Dixmude, 57. 

Eburones, 3. 

Eclipse of Belgium for conscience' sake, 45. . 

English Alliance, 28-29, 39, 54-64. 

Exactions of Germans, 60. 9 

Elizabeth, Queen, 53, 70. 

F 
Farnese, 48. 

Feudal system, 19-20, 37, 65, 66. Period, 19. 
Flemings, 1. Flemingants, 61. 
Flemish language, 1. 61. 
Faith, 2. Sacrifices for, 46. 
Franco-Belgian period, 12, 62. Dynasties, 14. 

Empire, leadership of Teutons, 13, 16. 
Franchises of cities, 30. 
Franchimontois heroes, 33-35. 
French domination, 50, 69. , 

Flanders, 20-37. 

Prosperity, 20. 

Baldwins, 20. 

Industry, wool and flax, 21. 

Commerce, 22. 

Struggles for liberty, 23, 29. Count Guy, 20. Robert, 28, 30, 34... 

Klauwaerts and Lilliaerts, 26. 

Battle front, 56-60. 

County, 65. 
Foreign regimes, 68. 

G 

Gas bombs, 58. 

Geography, 4. 

Ghent, 28, 29, 44. 

Godfrey de Bouillon, 8-10, 17-18. 

"God Wills It," 8. 

Golden Spurs, Battle, 27. Golden fleece order, 43. 

Guy of Dampiere, 25. 

H 
Hainault County, 66. 
Heroic Ages of Crusaders, 7-8. 
Hapsburgs, 41-42. 
History, 5, 64. 

73 



Holland states, 46-48, 51-52. 70. 
Hostility of Holland, 46, 51, 51-52. 

of France, 23-29, 46, 48. 

of Prussia, 53-64. 
Haelen battle, 55. 
Hoover feeds the hungry, 63. 

I 

Index, 70. 

Industry, 2. Of Flanders, 21. 

j 

Jerusalem siege, capture, 10-n. 
Joyeuse entree, 31. 

K 
Klauwaerts, 23, 26. 

L 
Languages, 1, 61. 
Labor, love of, 4 ; order of, 2, 43. 
Love of labor, culture, liberty, 3. 
Liberals, 50. 

Liberty, Love of, 2, 42. Sacrifice for 3, 45. 
Struggles, 14, 23, 33-34. 37, 42. 51-61. 
Limburg, 31, 67. 
Liege, Walloon capital, 33, defence, 54, 68. 

Struggles, Franchimontois, 34-37. Defence, 54. 
Leopold I, king of the Belgians, 53, 70. 
Leopold II, king of the Belgians, 53, 70. Congo, 5, 53. 
Louvain, 32. Destruction, burning of library, 55, 56. 
Lotharingia, middle state, 18. Kingdom, 65. 

Dukedoms: Upper: Lorraine, Lower: Belgium, 18. 
Luxemburg, 32, 67-68. 
Lilliaerts and Klauwaerts, 23, 26. 
Louis IX, 8; XI, 40; XIV, 46, 48. Kings of France. 

M 
Medieval History, 7, 64. 
Modern History, 55. 
Merovingians, 16. 
Mercier, Cardinal, 63. 
Mines, 4. 

Mixed races progressive, 1. Belgians, Franks, 14. 
Mohammedans, 8-12. 

74 



N 

Nation, Belgian, i. Chronicles of, 64. 
National Dukes, 37-39. 
Namur, 39, 55. Namur county, 67. 
Netherland-Burgundy, 68. 
Netherland kingdom, 52, 70. 
Nervians, 6. 

O 

Order of Golden Fleece, 43. 



Participation in great movements, 1. 

Party Strife, 52. 

Peter the Hermit, 9. 

Pepin the Short, 16. 

Progressive character of Belgians, 1. 

Prussians, 53-64. 

Philip the Fair, King of France, 24-28. 

Philip II, King of Spain, 47-49. 

Philip the Bold, Phlip the Good, national dukes, 37-47. 37~67- 

R 

Rank of Belgium, 4. 

Rivers, 4. Closed by Holland, 46, 68, 51 

Roads, 4. 

Roman period, 5, 64. 

S 
Saxon wars, 18. 
Seawater on Yser, 58. 
Self-government, 24. 
Spanish domination, 46-49, 69, 74. 

Absenteism, 47. 

Intrigues, 47. 

Philip II and William the Silent, 46. 

Albert and Isabella, 48, 69. 

Five wars of Louis XIV, 48-49. 
Socialists, 53. 
Soils of Belgium, 4. 
Statesmen, 46. 

75 



T 

Teutons, I. 

Traitors none of any consequence, 61. Language dupes few, 59. 

Terrorism ineffectual, 60. 

Turks Seldjuks, 8. 

U 
Ultimatum, 51. 

United Provinces of Holland ; Union of Utrecht, 48. 
Undaunted Belgians, 60-62. Judges. 
Union of Belgian principalities, 68. 
Union of Walloons and Flemings, 1, 18, 37, 49, 59. 
University of Louvain, 32, 60. 
Urban II, Pope, 9. 

V 

Yan Artevelde : Jacob, Philip, 30. 

W 

Walloon, people, language, 1. 

Country, 45. 
Wealth of Communes, 36. 

of Belgium, 44-46. 
William of Orange, the Silent, 47. 
Wilson, president, statesman, 64. 
Woolen industry, 21. 
Weavers allured to England, 22. 
World's war for culture, 7. 
World's War, 53-64-65. 

King Albert ; Masterly retreat, sorties, 54-59. 

Defense of Liege, 54. 

Haelen battle, 55. 

Namur, Antwerp. Flanders front ; four years' battles, 55. 

Sea waters, gas, 58. 

The Yzer struggles, 57-59. 

No trenches, but shelter above ground, 59. 

Terrorism, 60. Ineffectual; no traitors, 61. 

Judges undaunted, 62. 

Saviors of civilization, 62. 

Champions of human liberty, 63-64. 

Y 

Ypres, 55. 

Yzer River, battles, low country flood, 57, 59. 

76 



